The sort from this building revealed that at least 80% of the trash that was not recyclable originated from take-out food and catering.

Forty bags of trash from a dormatory was sorted. Almost 26% of the trash sorted could have been recycled (by volume, we did not weigh).

Much of the recyclable waste found in the trash originated from
food – cereal and cracker boxes, food containers, etc.

• Package of sliced ham
• Quart of milk
• 2 rolls of toilette paper
• Six packages of crackers
• Two bags of chips
• Bottle of water
• Package of rice cakes
• Handful of lollipops

• Bottle of nail polish remover
• Pair of socks
• Six bras
• T-shirt
• Towel
• Two book bags

A second audit of the dental school's waste revealed a big improvement in recycling contamination; only 1.3% of the recycling was contaminated with trash, down from 16% in 2005.

Unfortunately, of the 571 pounds of trash sorted, a whopping 140 pounds was recyclable material, a 13% improvement from 2005.

In total, 25% of the audited trash was recyclable material.

The most common recyclables found in the trash were bottles and cans, paper and files. We also found two batteries, magazines, journals, and even a large text book. There were also unused items in the trash such as three sleeves of disposable cups, some type of dental tool kit, a box of medical gloves and two full bottles of “Super-Sep". Click here for the Daily article!