Inform the housekeeping staff that, when collecting waste for the audit, they should maintain the separate streams that currently exist. For example, if your building individually collects commingled recyclables, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, and general garbage, the housekeeping staff should maintain those separate collections during the audit. 

Determine the best time period over which to collect the waste sample. Typically, project teams audit the amount of waste generated over the course of a standard 24-hour day (not a holiday or half-day). Buildings should collect a sample over a longer time period if they expect significant variation from day to day—the key is to pick a day or time period that is actually representative. Do it right so you get something out of it. 

If you choose a hauler to run your audit, it is critical to oversee the audit to make sure it meets LEED specifications. If you use separate haulers for waste and recycling, they’ll each have to do their own audit.

Some waste haulers offer waste-sorting services, and many are willing to conduct an audit. If you decide that conducting the audit onsite is infeasible due to space constraints, off-site sorting at the hauler’s facility may be your solution.

If the audit is conducted onsite or by project team members, it is worth having some Environmental Health & Safety presence (from in-house or contracted for the day) or contact in case of any safety issues.

In dense urban areas, it may be best to move the sorting process off-site.

Your team may easily be able to conduct the waste audit onsite. All you need are some intrepid team members and a standard bathroom scale. 

You can use either weight or volume as your preferred metric, but weight is generally preferable because of its greater accuracy. 

If your building’s recycling rate is poor, plan to conduct a waste stream audit early in the LEED process. This will give you time to identify opportunities both for improving the recycling rate and implementing appropriate changes before the performance period begins. This will facilitate success under MRc7: Solid Waste Management—Ongoing Consumables. 

In planning the audit, include all  the diverse waste flows that may be generated in the building. These may include:

general garbage (generated in offices, bathrooms, kitchens);
waste from retail or foodservice spaces in the building;
commingled or sorted recycling;
organic waste or compost;
battery recycling;
lamp recycling;
and shredded paper