Glossary
Waste Audit
Present and where diversion opportunities exist.
What is a waste audit?
A waste audit is a systematic analysis of a waste stream’s composition, revealing what materials are present and where diversion opportunities exist.
Waste audit explained
A waste audit opens the bag and counts what is inside. Physical audits sort samples by material type; virtual approaches infer composition from data like sorting game results and lookup searches. Audits answer the questions programs are otherwise guessing at: how much food waste sits in the trash, what contaminates the recycling, and where education would pay. Findings shape program design and measure progress afterward.
Frequently asked questions
What do you do with waste audit results?
Waste audit results drive program design and investment: how much food waste sits in the trash sizes an organics opportunity, what contaminates the recycling targets education, and repeat findings measure whether interventions worked. Audits replace guesswork with composition data before money gets committed.
How is a waste audit run?
A waste audit is run by collecting representative samples from a stream, sorting contents into material categories, and weighing each category to profile composition. Curbside audits inspect carts directly, while facility audits sample incoming loads, and both feed the same program decisions.
Can you do a waste audit without physical sorting?
A waste audit can run without physical sorting when digital data reveals behavior: aggregated results from interactive sorting tools and item search trends show which materials residents get wrong most. This virtual audit approach locates confusion at scale, letting programs target education without manual sorting studies.