Zero-Waste-to-Landfill Assessment and Application

The Green Manufacturing Industrial Consortium (GMIC) at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Western Michigan University (WMU) utilize a team of undergraduate and graduate students to conduct applied research for member companies of the consortium. The GMIC has focused considerable resources into the applied research aspect of conducting a landfill waste assessment. To date the GMIC has conducted three landfill assessments for organizations, reducing the amount of waste produced by these organizations by approximately 350,000 pounds. The presentation will outline the procedures and results of the GMIC landfill assessments, Zero-Waste-to-Landfill best practices and how to create a zero-landfill initiative that plans, promotes, and builds the road map to becoming a zero-landfill organization. The presentation will also illuminate three completed assessments conducted by the GMIC. The research results explain and show how the GMIC has been successful and what companies must do to successfully begin their quest to zero-waste.