Waste Management Report
Introduction
Give a brief introduction detailing the concepts of waste production and management (disposal) at
an international, national and local level. Then write about ECU in terms as being a large organisation
and the potential amount of waste that it contributes and how this waste is managed (i.e. where it
ends up). Mention previous trends of waste production at ECU (i.e. has ECU been improving its levels
of waste production or are they getting worse?) but do not try to explain them here. Finish the
introduction with a statement of the aims of the practical. Make sure that you provide references for
any of the facts that you include.
Methods: Simply refer to the lab manual to show where the methods came from. However note any changes made.
Results: You should describe the results in words. Produce graphs and/or tables, e.g., bar graphs or
pie graphs, showing the waste volume and mass by different types. Compare your results to those
from previous years. Give numerical comparisons if possible (i.e. use consistent/uniform units of
measurement between your data and other sources).
Discussion: (~2–3 A4 pages).
Explain your results and use them, along with other sources of information such as journal articles
and information sheets/booklets from your Council and other waste management agencies etc., to
help meet the aim of the report (see above). The following questions might give you some ideas
about the sorts of things to include in your discussion (do not write formal answers to these
questions!).
Expect to see
• Why measure both volume and weight of paper waste?
• What proportion of the waste could have been recycled?
• Why are the recycling rates for recyclable materials not 100%?
• Oncampus students only What might account for interannual (within the year) differences in ECU
waste production?
• Oncampus students only Do you think the recycling rate at ECU is acceptable, relative to
comparable organisations (your other examples)? Justify your answer.
• Of the waste currently being disposed of to landfill, what total could be recycled? What are the
implications of this in terms of landfill?
• What practical measures (your recommendations) could be taken to maximise the amount of waste
collected for recycling? How can the amount of waste generated on campus/home be reduced, or
alternatively, some waste be reused?
References: List your references THAT HAVE BEEN CITED in your text. Use the ECU referencing
format. If there is a hard copy version available cite this and not the website document version.
Remember that different references have different qualities and will be marked as such; journal
references are very good references, reports are also good, websites generally weak. Avoid overciting
websites as these references will be marked down if too many or inappropriate.
Video on waste management data calculations 2017
http://mylecture.video.ecu.edu.au/relay/2017/Waste_Data_%28unsorted%29_-_20170320_114826_7%280%29.html
Vedio on analysing Data generally
http://mylecture.ecu.edu.au/relay/2013/Untitled_-_Flash_%28Large%29_-_20140317_03.22.48PM.html
