Why Conduct a Waste Audit?
Each semester, the Tulane Office of Sustainability conducts a waste audit in collaboration with Senior Professor of Practice Dr. Nicole Katin's “Approaches to Environmental Studies” course to assess the amount and type of waste our campus generates. Sorting and weighing our waste provides a detailed understanding of our current waste practices and how they can be improved.
Waste Audit Results
Recycling and trash bags were collected from five different outdoor stations across campus. Working in teams, students sorted, counted, and weighed the contents. The results showed that only 3% of the materials in the landfill bin should have been in the recycling bin. Good job, Tulanians!
However, around 49% of the materials in the recycling bags were contaminated, so please remember to recycle properly!
Recycling Tips
Make sure your recyclables are clean, dry, and loose (not bagged) in the appropriate collection bin. The most common source of contamination was food and drink. So please finish your meal, empty the organic components in the trash, and pour out liquids before putting recycling materials in the collection bin.
On Tulane's campus, the following materials are collected for recycling:
- Cardboard: clean, emptied of other materials, and flattened
- Plastic #1, plastic #2, and metals: clean and emptied
- Mixed Paper: dry and free of plastic wrapping
