There are some excellent resources available on the internet to help you set up environmental programs at your school. One particularly informative site we found is the Waste Wise Schools site by EcoRecycle. You can download lots of useful information from there including instructions for conducting a school waste audit and how to set up a waste minimization program.
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A School Waste Audit

Use this form to conduct a waste audit of your school. The totals indicated with the letters G   H   I
J   R and C are used in calculations for parts of the audit. Waste refers to all the unwanted materials produced by the school: garbage placed in hoppers, materials put out for recycling and organic material that is mulched or composted.

School Population: Students Staff Total

________________ ________________ ________________

Date of Audit _____________________

1. Sources of Your School's Waste:

Place ticks () in the table to indicate the source(s) of each type of waste in your school.

Type of Waste	Source
	Classrooms	Staffroom	Office	Canteen	Cleaners	Garden	Other
Paper and Cardboard
Glass
Plastic
Cans
Other Metals
Timber
Garden Waste
Food Waste
Chemicals
Other

2. What Happens to Your School's Waste?

Place ticks () in the table to indicate how each type of waste in your school is disposed. In the last column write in estimates for the composition of your school's waste.*

Type of Waste	Method of Disposal				Est.% of school's waste (by weight)
	Mainly Recycled	Mainly Composted	Mainly to Hopper	Mainly to Drains
Paper and Cardboard
Glass
Plastic
Cans
Other Metals
Timber
Garden Waste
Food Waste
Chemicals
Other

*Sample bins from different sources, weighing different types of waste.

3. Recycling in Your School

Complete the table for each material recycled by the school.

Material Recycled	Amount Collected (bags/bins per year)	Estimated Weight (kg per year)	Income ($ per year)
Total	N/A	R	I

4. Quantities of Garbage Produced by Your School

What size hopper/skip/bin does your school have?	___________	m3
How many hoppers/skips/bins does your school have?	___________
How many full hoppers/skips/bins of garbage are collected by the waste contractor each week?	___________
What is the total amount of garbage produced by your school in one week?	___________	m3
What is the total amount of garbage produced by your school in one year (assuming 40 weeks in the school year)?	___________	m3
If 1 cubic metre of "loose" garbage weighs approximately 150 kg, what is the weight of garbage produced by your school in one year?	___________	Kg G
How much garbage is produced per student in your school?	___________	Kg
How much organic material (food scraps and garden waste) is composted each week?	___________	Kg
How much organic material (food scraps and garden waste) is composted in one year?	___________	Kg C

5. The Total Amount of Waste Produced by Your School

Method of Disposal	Amount Produced per Year (kg)
hopper/skip/bin(s)	G
Recycling	R
Composting	C
Total

The total amount of waste produced by your school each year is:
__________________ kg or __________________ tonnes.

6. The Total Cost of Waste Disposal for Your School

Estimate the cost for each form of disposal. Write these figures in the table.

Method of Disposal	Cost ($) per year
hopper/skip/bin(s)	H
Recycling
Composting (tools, bins fertiliser)
Total	J

Calculate the net cost of waste disposal by subtracting Total I (Table 3) from Total J (Table 6).

The net cost of waste disposal for your school is $ _____________________ per year.

Created by PBS Briter Solutions peter@briter.com.au
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