MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2017



Residential Waste Audit - W70 New House

Rachel Perlman

Jan/30 Mon 09:00AM-03:30PM W70 New House, Safety / Protective equipment will be provided.

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/20
Limited to 20 participants

The upcoming renovation of W70 offers an opportunity to rethink how we manage materials in residential buildings on campus.  At this waste audit, students will sort freshly generated waste material into 21 specific waste streams to quantify the various waste streams. This audit will provide data about specific waste streams that will be translated into design solutions intended to provide appropriate space and better functionality for waste management practices in the building.  By participating, students will be assisting in the research that will ultimately make W70 one of the most efficient and sustainable residential buildings on campus.

How much food waste winds up in the trash bin? How much waste and what types of waste do undergraduate dorms like New House generate? We’ll be gathering both qualitative and quantitative data to answer questions like these. We’ll be learning by doing!

There will be an opportunity for students to talk with staff in the Office of Sustainability, Recycling and Materials Management Office, and Residential Life about their personal experience: What are the challenges of minimizing waste generation and knowing “what stuff goes where?” What changes would you like to see in MIT dorms regarding waste?

Article about waste audit conducted in Koch: https://sustainability.mit.edu/news/audit-uncovers-waste-composition-mit-campus

Video of past audit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuO95CPAzgk

 

PLEASE REGISTER:

https://goo.gl/forms/SYg4ZY6jalzs6hij1

Sponsor(s): Office of Sustainability, Residential Life Programs, Department of Facilities
Contact: Rachel Perlman, rperlman@mit.edu