A Lab with a View

Prior to our first visit to a municipal solid waste facility, the class completed a lab to better understand how waste is separated and tested for waste to energy facilities. The first thing we noticed was how much nice the view from this lab was compared to the civil engineering basement labs.

And, of course, we looked just as serious and studious as ever in our lab coats.

During this lab, we learned the "quartering" procedure for both compost and solid waste. First, the waste is separated into four quarters. Diagonal sections are mixed together, and the procedure is repeated several times. This is a very common method for sampling and testing municipal solid waste.