A waste audit involves collecting all of your trash from a certain period of time to learn more about what you use and waste each day. Doing a waste audit is pretty simple but involves some effort up front.
If you’re already starting to close your browser, bear with me just a little longer.
Done right, a trash audit can be incredibly eye-opening. And in my experience, the process has the potential to totally shift how you view your daily needs and habits.
So, if you’re ready to learn how to do a waste audit—and get to the root of what sustainability can mean in your life—read on ✨
1. Decide How Long To Do Your Trash Audit
Start your trash audit by deciding how long you want your sample period to be.
The longer your audit lasts, the more of a cross section you’ll get of your trash. However, a week-long audit can seem daunting so we recommend starting with 24 or 48 hours.
2. Collect All of Your Trash in One Place
To simplify your waste audit, choose a single trash can for collecting all of your trash.
Not only does this make it easier to go through everything when you’re done—it’s a great way to visualize how your trash adds up.
Many clients find this easier now that they’re working from home. However, if you spend a chunk of your day away from home, you can:
Carry a small sack in your bag or car Keep a dedicated waste basket at your desk Carry it on your back like a trash bug (kidding!)
Pro Tip: Reducing food waste is an important part of living sustainably. That said, letting food scraps and leftovers hang around can get messy quickly. While I don’t recommend collecting food waste in your audit bin, it’s important to be mindful of it as you move through this exercise.
3. Inventory Everything in Your Waste Basket
Once your collection period is over, you may have a pretty manageable—or maybe not so manageable—pile of trash on your hands.
Start by dumping everything out and then sort it by item so you can see what kind of trash you’re producing the most of. Count how many of each item you find.
If it helps you better visualize your consumption, you can also sort the trash into categories—like takeout containers, toiletries, etc.
4. Reorder & Review Your List
Here’s the really insightful part of this process. Take your trash inventory and sort the list based on how many of each item you have.
What do you notice? Are there any patterns emerging?
Consider these questions as you review your list:
What item(s) do you have the most of? In my example above, it was paper towels. Are there any categories that are substantially more common than others? For example, you might have WAY more takeout containers than you expected. I noticed that most of my trash was packaging from the kitchen. Would you classify your most common items as like to haves or need to haves? One of the most common items above was popsicle wrappers—a tasty treat but not a necessary one.
5. Reevaluate Your Needs
Depending on your discoveries in the previous steps, it may be obvious where you have room for improvement.
If it isn’t clear—that’s OK, too!
Try going through each item to decide whether it’s a need or a want.
In the example, paper towels and popsicle wrappers were the most common items. From there, you might conclude that paper towels are a necessity, whereas popsicles—though tasty—are more of a treat.
No matter how things shake out on your list, the next step is to…
6. Make Sustainable Swaps
So what happens if you can’t realistically live without any of the items in your trash bins?
Paper towels clean up spills, food comes in jars, and popsicles—well, those may be non-negotiable too.
This final step is where we really have to do the work. Go through your list item by item and try to identify more sustainable alternatives. Consider swaps that might reduce the amount of trash you produce—or eliminate it altogether.
If you’re following the example in step three, this might mean replacing traditional paper towels with reusable cloths or making your own zero-waste popsicles.
The important thing to remember is that every sustainability journey is different. So start small and incorporate sustainable swaps as you’re able.
How To Do a Waste Audit
If you’ve never tried a waste audit, start small and collect all of the trash you produce in 24 hours. Then, take an inventory to discover how much waste you produce each day—and the types of trash that are most common.
When you’re finished, you should have a better idea of where you can make the most meaningful changes in your daily habits. If you’d like some more personalized guidance through the process—contact us for a one-on-one session.
Has this post inspired you to try a trash audit or have you done one in the past? We’d love to hear about your experience! Drop it in the comments below
I’ll just be over here with a popsicle.
