An Evaluation of the 3 / 4 Bin System at Dalhousie University

Abstract

This paper is the final report of the research project for the Greenfoot recycling team for the Environmental Problem Solving II class at Dalhousie University, supervised under Karen Harper. The overall goal of the project was to assess the state of our current 3/4 bin recycling and waste system in the Killam Library and SUB building, and to improve the efficiency of this system. Using a questionnaire, a sign survey and a waste audit, we gathered information on recycling and waste habits at Dalhousie and concluded there were a number of ways that Dalhousie's system could be improved. These include: Providing signs that are more detailed than the ones currently in place and educating students and staff about what materials are allowed in each bin. Our findings showed us that there was a large disconnect between how people claimed to know what waste/recyclables went in which bin in the survey but the waste audit showed that much of the sorting was incorrect and a large percentage of garbage could be diverted away from the landfill. Overall, we found that Dalhousie's waste and recycling system could be improved with better signs and a greater awareness among users.