Station Audit

What do you need to know about your stations ahead of time?

From the streams you will be analyzing to how each container opens, here is a list of everything you should know before embarking on your Station Audit journey:

• Where is each station located? Each division will likely have a number of Centralized Recycling & Waste Collection Stations. Finding out where each of them are ahead of time is important in making sure that none are forgotten about on audit day. If you have access to a building map, highlight each station on the map to make things easier for yourselves.
• What streams are at each station? If you find out ahead of time which streams you can expect at each station, you can be well prepared to estimate their fullness and contamination levels. Are you dealing with just Waste & Mixed Recyclables, or can you expect to find Waste, Glass, Paper and Cans & Bottles at each station? Find this out in advance of the audit.
• What containers are used at each station, and how do they open? Some Recycling & Waste containers are difficult to open or require a key to get into. Make sure you know what to expect and how to open each container before heading out to audit.
• What is each container's capacity? This will be important information down the road when you're trying to improve your program. If certain bins are constantly overflowing, you will know that the capacity of the current containers aren't enough for your Refuse output.
• What are the standards in your organization for signage and labelling? If you know what the signs and labels are supposed to look like, you will have an easier time identifying which Streams you are auditing at each station. You can also identify any redundancies or discrepancies in signage and labelling while auditing.

Please Note! The first few times you conduct your Station Audits, things may be a little confusing and challenging, but the more you do it the easier it will get. Answering the above questions will help to eliminate some of the challenges commonly experienced during Station Audits.