Fall Waste Audit

Good news from this year's fall waste audit. Seattle residents and businesses compost and recycle 40% of their total waste. Explorer West composts and recycles almost 60%! But, that's still not good enough, so each advisory has come up with strategies for improvement and acted these out at an assembly.

A big issue identified from this year's audit was that 75% of the compost was food that was still edible (half a sandwich, an apple, etc.). Students suggested that they could bring that food home or save it for the next lunch. Another idea was for students to pack their own lunch so they could bring just what they knew they would eat.

Another highlight includes a decrease in overall garbage weight from 16 lbs. per day last fall to 9.5 lbs. this year. That's a 40% reduction!!!

Our next waste audit is scheduled for late winter.