Zero Waste Certification Audit Checklist

The Zero Waste Certification Audit Service assists businesses in validating their landfill diversion claims and improving their sustainability programs. With more regulations surrounding marketing claims compliance issues in place or imminent, this requires fact-based reporting to substantiate these commitments.

This tool helps facilities preparing for TRUE certification to estimate point totals, conduct credit gap analyses and plan next steps. Learn about TRUE Precertification as an incremental pathway toward full certification.

1. Inventory

PRC will conduct an initial tour of your facility or site during its zero waste certification audit to assess existing conditions and establish goals. After this initial visit, PRC will present you with a proposal outlining all details of its audit process.

PRC uses “waste diversion” as the standard criteria to evaluate facilities for zero waste certification. This definition includes all reduction pathways (reuse, recycling, reclamation and composting), along with e-waste disposal and waste-to-energy processes; reductions from product redesign can also count towards diversion; however this depends on individual cases.

TRUE has recently issued pilot credits designed to assist companies pursuing zero waste certification understand their credit requirements and create strategies to meet them. Please visit the TRUE for Construction Projects Pilot Resources page for more information.

2. Waste Management Plan

At this phase, the audit team interviews staff to gain an understanding of their work practices and awareness level regarding zero waste efforts at the company. Furthermore, they assess whether their processes and procedures have been documented accordingly.

Waste management plans form the cornerstone of any sustainable business’s sustainability efforts, which is why GBB has prepared this free guide to assist companies in staying on the right track.

GBB’s Zero Waste Certification Program and TRUE rating system is detailed here in this guide, from eligibility, requirements, process steps and precertification preparation all the way through an estimate of credits a facility could earn on their journey towards TRUE certification. You can download it here.

3. Recycling Program

An effective recycling plan will assist in organizing the information necessary for running an effective program. It can set out roles, goals and provide a reference document if circumstances change – such as with new custodial service providers.

Audits in this phase involve observing current waste disposal, recycling and waste reduction practices and looking for opportunities for improvement to lower ongoing waste streams and toxins.

Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI) administers the TRUE Zero Waste certification process, which recognizes companies and projects who divert at least 90% of their landfill-bound waste away from landfill, incineration or waste-to-energy processes. As more points are earned by projects towards certification levels higher up on this scale – at minimum 31 out of 81 credit points must be earned to achieve certification status.

4. Waste Disposal

Waste disposal audits focus on evaluating efforts made to limit landfill disposal of waste products. Businesses using this service need to demonstrate they are working diligently towards their zero-waste goals and claims of diversion.

Verifying processes, practices, and documentation that support claims of diversion. Our service starts with an in-depth consultation so we can get a sense of your current efforts as well as potential credits being pursued.

Based on your industry of choice, different credit requirements and goals will vary accordingly. Restaurants for instance must use circular take-away containers in order to limit food waste; other sectors, like manufacturing can utilize raw material reduction strategies as a means to minimize waste production.

5. Training

Certification as a zero waste facility is an effective way to demonstrate your commitment to sustainability, garnering accolades from both customers and partners while earning recognition within your community. However, as part of DESTINATION ZERO’s five-phase process it takes some time until full certification can be attained.

As the first step of diversion management, your organization must create an accurate system for tracking its diversion rate. This should include asking haulers to identify contamination percentage of recycling streams and collect regular data (adding back any weight associated with contamination into landfill/incineration totals).

Digital checklists can assist healthcare administrators in recording and documenting audit results for their organization, saving both time and making it easier to track and analyze data. This is particularly effective for clinical waste audits which must abide by state regulations as well as require PPE to avoid spreading diseases.