return to Measurement Pages
Measurement Decisions
The trash audit group in June of 2013.
- Unit of measure = pounds per week
- Per person is the number of people that are in the Businesses in Residence and regular volunteers
- Industry standards for waste per person/per month were taken from: NYC Mayor's Office on Environmental Coordination (Chapter 14)
Average NY Office Space Waste Amounts from NYC CEQR Technical Manual
Sources of Waste
- offices
- kitchen
- bathrooms
- our Friday community lunch
Waste Destinations
- Garbage goes out on Fridays. It is picked up by the City of Detroit Department of Public Services.
- Recycled material (paper, cardboard, styrofoam, glass, metal and plastics) is picked up weekly by Recycle Here.
- Compost goes to 2 locations: Palmer Park, where we mix it with spent brewing grains from Motor City Brewing Works and horse manure; and some to our worms, located in the greenhouse. We compost approximately 5 pounds of food scraps per day, 25 per week.
Waste Measurement Charts
In October 2015, there were 97 people in the building.
Monthly Waste in pounds, Oct 2014 - Oct 2015
Monthly waste statistics per person, Oct 2014 - Oct 2015
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for Oct 2015
This chart compares our waste output with an industry standard for office space of 13 pounds of waste per person per week, or about 56 pounds of waste per person per month. As the number of people in the building has risen throughout the year, our waste numbers have remained surprisingly constant. The hypothetical 'industry standard' red line shows how these numbers might have looked if we were a typical office building.
Monthly waste cost per person, Oct 2014 - Oct 2015
2015 Measurement Charts
Monthly Waste (in pounds)
Monthly Waste in pounds, January 2014 - January 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, February 2014 - February 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, March 2014 - March 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, April 2014 - April 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, May 2014 - May 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, June 2014 - June 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, July 2014 - July 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, Aug 2014 - Aug 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, Sep 2014 - Sep 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, Oct 2014 - Oct 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, Nov 2014 - Nov 2015
Monthly Waste in pounds, Dec 2014 - Dec 2015
Monthly Waste per Person (in pounds)
Monthly waste statistics per person, January 2014 - January 2015
Monthly waste statistics per person, February 2014 - February 2015
Monthly waste statistics per person, March 2014 - March 2015
Monthly waste statistics per person, April 2014 - April 2015
Monthly waste statistics per person, May 2014 - May 2015
Monthly waste statistics per person, June 2014 - June 2015
Monthly waste statistics per person, July 2014 - July 2015
Monthly waste statistics per person, Aug 2014 - Aug 2015
Monthly waste statistics per person, Sep 2014 - Sep 2015
Monthly Waste Comparison to Industry Standard
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for January 2015
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for February 2015
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for March 2015
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for April 2015
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for May 2015
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for June 2015
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for July 2015
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for Aug 2015
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for Sep 2015
Monthly Waste Cost per Person
Monthly waste cost per person, January 2014 - January 2015
Monthly waste cost per person, February 2014 - February 2015
Monthly waste cost per person, March 2014 - March 2015
Monthly waste cost per person, April 2014 - April 2015
Monthly waste cost per person, May 2014 - May 2015
Monthly waste cost per person, June 2014 - June 2015
Monthly waste cost per person, July 2014 - July 2015
Monthly waste cost per person, Aug 2014 - Aug 2015
Monthly waste cost per person, Sep 2014 - Sep 2015
See Also
For more detail, visit our As Built pages, detailing the work in these areas:
For past years' charts, see Monthly Waste Archives