Waste Audits

The Waste Audit group is a brand new project this semester for GU SIFE. The idea originated from the Sustainable Living team and grew so big to become its own project!

Waste Audits, on their own, are a review of a home or business waste output, specifically to what is being thrown out in the garbage. The team has partnered up with the Blue Springs School District in Missouri and Deffenbaugh, a recycling and waste management provider, to reduce the amount of waste the schools have.

We first performed an audit of two schools in Blue Springs (an elementary and middle school) before Deffenbaugh started its services. Now Deffenbaugh is in the school and we plan on performing three more audits (in an elementary, middle and high school) to review the amount of trash and recyclable trash the schools throw away. We will then begin education programs in all schools in the district (over 30) and after a month, go back and see the affects of this education and measure the decrease in trash.

Our goal is to considerably reduce the school district's waste and to find other schools, businesses, or homes that are in need of the very same services.

Blue Springs School District is located in Blue Springs, MO. "The Blue Springs School District, located on the eastern edge of the Kansas City metro area in Jackson County, covers a total of 58 square miles and includes students from the communities of Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Independence, Lake Tapawingo and Lee’s Summit. Annual enrollment is approximately 13,951 (a 45% increase since 1980). We are one of the growing areas in the state, increasing our student body by 200 each year." (from bssd.net)

2010 Members:

Zoe Naylor -- Brenda Brenmark -- Chelsea Carter -- Joe Oxley