Queen's University is required each year to conduct a waste audit and thanks to a new partnership, the task this year has been turned into an experiential learning opportunity for students.

Through the audit, a legislated operational activity required by the Ministry of the Environment, the university is able to calculate the annual waste diversion rate. A total of 44 students from ENSC290 and COMM408 courses volunteered to sort waste and write an essay on their experience in exchange for extra credit.

The audit was conducted from Oct. 4-7 and involved 32 buildings on campus. This year the Sustainability Office and Physical Plant Services partnered with Steven Moore, a Continuing Adjunct with the Smith School of Business who has developed and teaches two sustainability courses, to offer students an experiential learning opportunity by taking part in the waste audit.

As Moore explains, this was hands-on work as the students were required to sort the waste into different streams, weigh the material type and record the data.

While the program offered an experiential learning opportunity, it also opened a lot of eyes among the students.

“The word ‘shocked’ appears a number of times in their comments,” Moore says, pointing to the essays submitted by the participants following the audit. “They only took one day’s waste from each building and I think they were really surprised at how much waste there was and how much was not really waste, including gym shoes, pyjama bottoms, tights and phone cords. I think they were also surprised by how much (of the waste) was perfectly good food in unopened packages – and how much of the waste should have been recycled but wasn’t.”

The final report from the waste audit will be released by the end of the year.

While the program provided a new experience for the students it also will help the university track the effectiveness of its waste diversion programs.  Last year the campus achieved a waste diversion rate of 47 per cent.

“This activity allows us to determine the composition of the waste stream, identify contamination issues and understand the level of participation in the recycling program on campus by user groups. The students assisted with these activities under the direction of GFL Environmental and our office,” says Llynwen Osborne, Recycling Coordinator for the Sustainability Office. “The Sustainability Office was really excited to have so many students participate in auditing the campus waste stream.”

Moore says that the majority of the students took some time to get used to handling the materials, but all were very engaged in the activity and walked away with new insights into the amount of waste that is being tossed away.

“I think it will stick with them,” he says. “I don't think any of them will forget it.”

Waste Reduction Week is marked from Oct. 17-21

To learn more about the Sustainability Office and its initiatives and programs, visit the Queen’s Sustainability website.