Environmental · Solid Waste
Household Waste Audit
Beginner 2 weeks 10-15 hours
Weigh and sort your household trash for 2 weeks, calculate your recycling diversion rate, and build a plan to cut waste.
Major
Environmental
Focus area
Solid Waste
Total hours
10-15 hours
What you'll need
- digital hanging luggage scale
- disposable nitrile gloves
- collapsible sorting bins 5 pack
- heavy duty tarp for sorting
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Steps
- Set up labeled bins for trash, recycling, compost, e-waste, and other.
- Weigh and record every category daily for 14 days.
- Calculate waste per person per day and your diversion rate.
- Identify the top 3 categories by weight.
- Design a reduction plan with 3 to 5 changes and estimate what each would save.
- Chart your results and document the audit for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Sorting setup with labeled bins
- weighing a category
- waste by category pie chart
- diversion rate calculation
- before and after chart
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Conducted a 14-day household waste audit, measuring [X] lbs of waste across 5 categories
Calculated a [X]% diversion rate and designed a reduction plan projected to cut landfill waste by [X]%
Quantified results with [insert your result, such as removal percentage, accuracy, strength, or cost savings] and summarized findings in a technical report
Skills you'll show off
Waste characterizationdata collectionsustainability planningrate calculationsdata visualization