How much waste does the College produce?
To answer that question, 44 students in NC’s Environmental Management and Assessment (EMA) graduate certificate program conducted a hands-on waste audit at both Niagara campuses in March.
The students, led by instructor Matthew Harbin, a former Environmental Specialist and EMA program alum (2010), sorted through bags of waste, recycling and organics as part of their ‘Pollution Prevention’ course.
Over the course of two days, one at each campus, students categorized items according to type – 29 categories in total.
The students, with the support of Facilities Management, the Sustainability Office, and contract cleaners, tracked their findings in a draft report for NC’s waste management at both campuses and supports the Sustainability Office with meeting provincial regulations for waste reporting.
The annual process helps College sustainability efforts in many ways.
For one, it helps the College establish a baseline of waste and recycling produced by normal activities to compare waste reduction practices year-over-year.
The audit also measures materials that end up in the wrong bins, and prompts students and College leaders to recommend improvements including redesigning collection containers and signage, education and communication campaigns, and more.
The ultimate goal is to minimize the waste that ends up in the landfill.
Manager, Sustainability, Taryn Wilkinson explains that the student-led waste audit helps the College not only meet regulatory requirements, but also to make positive change.
“It also helps us to identify problems with the waste systems and create engagement material and activities to help us leverage positive change to divert as much material away from landfill as possible, and shift towards a more circular economy,” said Wilkinson.
The audit is excellent career preparation for EMA students.
“This type of work is directly applicable for a career path as Waste Audits are completed by Consultants, and specialized contractors throughout the Province,” explains Harbin, who served as an Environmental Consultant and also the Lead Ontario Waste Auditor for over a decade.
Harbin has sorted through his fair share of trash, conducting over 160 waste audits over his career – his first as a student at NC in 2010.
“I was able to bring my experience into my professional career and establish myself as a specialist within my organization,” said Harbin.
In 2025, the EMA program and the Sustainability Office hope to engage the broader College community in the waste audit to engage students and employees on the topic of waste – stay tuned!
