Performing
a waste audit and witnessing the effects of food in the waste stream
firsthand gave us a frame of reference for the current state of trash at
DU and allowed us the opportunity to examine the various factors that
contribute to overall trash production. As we were auditing, we noticed a
continuous presence of the white Nagel to-go boxes containing leftovers
in trash from all over campus. The popularity of the Nagel dining hall
and the amount of the to-go boxes seen throughout the waste audit made
Nagel the obvious choice for examining food waste in the DU waste
stream. We observed that the majority of people who took their food to
go didn’t finish their food and threw the leftovers in the trash, as
compost bins are only in dining halls, but we didn’t have enough
information to develop a full picture of the situation. Reducing the
amount of trash that could have been diverted to recycling or compost is
the first step toward a more efficient waste disposal system, both on
campus and in terms of the big picture.
To
further explore the role of the typical DU student in creating waste
that comes from Nagel, we created a survey that asked a variety of
questions regarding their consumption habits. We also wanted to assess
student’s level of education on trash separation, so we asked them if
they knew how to properly dispose of their diningware. Our survey info
supported our hypothesis; the majority of students left Nagel with their
food and didn’t finish their meals, and our study also showed that
nearly all of those students that left threw away their trash into a bin
destined for the landfill. A significant amount of text was used in the
infographic because the explanation of the survey was necessary, and
the definition of a waste audit was included because the average person
would likely not know what it means, and the understanding of that
concept is integral to the rest of the information. Transferring the
data that we received from surveying students into pie graphs helped us
visualize the numbers and gave us a tangible sense of how the waste from
Nagel was eventually disposed.
From
the observations we made during the waste audit, we assumed education
on how to properly separate trash is a major issue, as there was a
significant amount of recyclable and compostable goods in the bags
destined for the landfill. To our surprise, the results of our study
showed that over 60% of students who regularly ate at Nagel knew how to
properly dispose of their dining ware and food container. We wanted to
emphasize this fact, as the majority of the food waste found during the
audit was from Nagel and it appeared that the issue was one of education
on trash separation. Having the graph representing this information
stand alone with a small paragraph of explanation highlights what we
believe to be the central problem of trash on a college campus. The main
hurdle that must be overcome in order to improve the effectiveness of
the DU waste disposal system is the availability and convenience of
composting on campus. Increasing awareness about readily available
composting locations and the addition of compost bins outside of dining
halls, especially in high-traffic areas such as Sturm or Driscoll, could
greatly increase the amount of correctly disposed waste.
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