A waste audit is the perfect opportunity to verify that your battery and lamp recycling programs are working, and also to verify that no durable goods or construction waste are slipping into the ongoing consumables waste stream.
Post the audit results in the building to help occupants understand the impact of their actions. Consider publicizing information about typical recycling rates in your region to show how your building compares. Communicate a plan for a follow-up audit to gauge the building’s improvement over time.
Use the waste audit to determine whether more education about recycling procedures is needed for occupants—for example, understanding what qualifies as recyclable, and which receptacles are for which materials.
When analyzing audit results, look for missed recycling and source-reduction opportunities. Note the number of recyclables that are thrown in the trash, as well as recurring waste that could be eliminated completely. For example, if paper towels are a major component of the unrecyclable waste stream, consider installing efficient hand dryers. (See the
Project teams must physically go through the garbage and recyclables to conduct the audit. Shortcuts such as extrapolating the recycling rate from generic data of similar-sized buildings or rule-of-thumb figures are not acceptable approaches.
Stay on top of emerging products and technologies that might enhance the building’s green cleaning strategy, and revise cleaning strategies accordingly.
The building management team should review all practices and products before renewing contracts with cleaning service providers (typically annually) to identify opportunities for improvement and expansion of environmentally-friendly practices.
The staff responsible for overseeing the policy should communicate regularly with all service providers, review product and equipment orders, and conduct regular building and site inspections and evaluations to ensure that the policy is functioning as intended.
Contractors involved with various elements of the policy and the IEQc3.1 program carry out their tasks according to contracts, and report all relevant activities to the building management.
Project teams must physically go through the garbage and recyclables to conduct the audit. Shortcuts such as extrapolating the recycling rate from generic data of similar-sized buildings or rule-of-thumb figures are not acceptable approaches.