Student-Powered Waste Characterization: A County/City/University Collaboration

摘要

A joint effort between the City of Flagstaff, Coconino County and Northern Arizona University (NAU) was initiated in the spring of 2008 that focused on characterization of the County's waste. The Cinder Lake Landfill near Flagstaff, Arizona, serves a geographically and culturally diverse population in northern Arizona; contributing populations include the city of Flagstaff, small towns on the Navajo Nation, and a variety of small dispersed rural communities. Students from a junior-level Environmental Engineering Solid and Hazardous Waste class at NAU physically separated, categorized, and weighed municipal waste during a one-day session from four different transfer stations. Identification and separation of waste proved challenging; many items were contaminated or were comprised of a multitude of materials. Results indicated that data variability was high; recycling trends in the communities sampled indicated generally good compliance. In addition to a better understanding of the type of wastes generated by these various populations, the study will be used to estimate the amount of recyclable material that could be diverted, make corrections to the projected landfill life, and make recommendations for future recycling programs and the focus of public outreach programs. This project is expected to continue each spring to add to the database.