Dumpster divers dig into trash for smarter waste management
At Stanford, students and staff are conducting monthly waste audits to better understand and improve campus waste management. Volunteers, including environmental engineering student Katelyn Kramer, sort landfill bin contents to identify what was incorrectly discarded. The process, organized by the Zero Waste team and supported by Peninsula Sanitary Service, helps determine waste composition, volume, and diversion opportunities. Julie Muir, associate director of zero waste systems, emphasizes the importance of this data-driven approach to make informed sustainability decisions. Findings reveal that 75% of items in landfill bins could have been reused, recycled, or composted. Insights from audits have already led to improved bin placement and the creation of resources like the mobile-friendly Waste Wise Guide to help users sort waste correctly. Student researchers, including MBA candidate Yalcin Aydin, use audit data to model future waste trends and inform policy. Kramer’s own research connects these efforts to global e-waste issues in places like Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Learn more about this experiment.
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