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 January 2017, there were 99 people in the building.
Monthly Waste in pounds, January 2016 - January 2017
Monthly waste statistics per person, January 2016 - January 2017
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for January 2017
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, January 2016 - January 2017
2016 Measurement Charts
Monthly Waste (in pounds)
Monthly Waste per Person (in pounds)
Monthly waste statistics per person, Jan 2015 - Jan 2016
Monthly waste statistics per person, Feb 2015 - Feb 2016
Monthly waste statistics per person, Mar 2015 - Mar 2016
Monthly waste statistics per person, Apr 2015 - Apr 2016
Monthly waste statistics per person, May 2015 - May 2016
Monthly waste statistics per person, June 2015 - June 2016
thumb|Monthly waste statistics per person, July 2015 - July 2016
Monthly waste statistics per person, Aug 2015 - Aug 2016
Monthly waste statistics per person, Sep 2015 - Sep 2016
Monthly waste statistics per person, Oct 2015 - Oct 2016
Monthly waste statistics per person, Nov 2015 - Nov 2016
Monthly waste statistics per person, Dec 2015 - Dec 2016
Monthly Waste Comparison to Industry Standard
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for Jan 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for Feb 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for Mar 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for Apr 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for May 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for June 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for July 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for Aug 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for Sep 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs industry standard for Oct 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs Industry standard for Nov 2016
Monthly waste comparison, Green Garage vs Industry standard for Dec 2016
Monthly Waste Cost per Person
Monthly waste cost per person, Jan 2015 - Jan 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, Feb 2015 - Feb 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, Mar 2015 - Mar 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, Apr 2015 - Apr 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, May 2015 - May 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, June 2015 - June 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, July 2015 - July 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, Aug 2015 - Aug 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, Sep 2015 - Sep 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, Oct 2015 - Oct 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, Nov 2015 - Nov 2016
Monthly waste cost per person, Dec 2015 - Dec 2016
See Also
For more detail, visit our As Built pages, detailing the work in these areas:
For past years' charts, see Monthly Waste Archives