ZeroDay waste calculator uses the data and ALGORITHMS supplemented by The Zero Waste Design Guidelines - Design Strategies and Case Studies for a Zero-Waste City.

The Zero Waste Design Guidelines address the crucial role that design plays in achieving NYC’s ambitious goal, outlined in OneNYC, to send zero waste to landfills by 2030.

The Guidelines were developed through a collaborative process starting in November 2016. More than 100 collaborators—including architects, planners, developers, city officials, waste haulers, recycling experts and building managers —engaged in multidisciplinary workshops at New York’s Center for Architecture.

The guidelines team visited more than 40 buildings and held discussions with porters and supers to fully understand waste collection issues across building types.

The Zero Waste Design Guidelines are made possible with support from The Rockefeller Foundation and were developed in collaboration with the AIA New York Committee on the Environment; Kiss + Cathcart, Architects; ClosedLoops; and the Foodprint Group.

Data used

• For the residential calculator the weight of each waste stream is calculated from NYC average waste generation data and waste characterization data from DSNY.
• For the commercial calculator data from California (CalRecycle) is used as it gives the weight of waste streams per employee for different commercial occupancies.
• Weights of waste are converted to volumes using volume to weight conversions.Container sizes and footprints are as noted in the infographics Waste Bins in Buildings and 20–40 Cu Yd Containers and 1–8 Cu Yd Containers.

• If the user selects residential occupancy they input the number of apartments and occupancy per apartment.
• A total amount of waste is given and the user can reduce that amount to reflect waste reduction strategies.
• Capture rate sliders for each waste stream are set to city averages, and the user can adjust them to reflect waste diversion strategies.

• If the user selects commercial occupancy they input the number of employees for a range of occupancies.
• Sliders allow the user to reduce the total amount of each waste stream to reflect waste reduction strategies.
• Capture rate sliders for each waste stream are set to city averages, and the user can adjust them to reflect waste diversion strategies.

Note - If compostable dishware is used then the volume of organic waste will be much larger than calculated.

• Bramidan, “Balers,” http://www.bramidan.us/Products/Vertical-balers/B-series/Product/B4.aspx#technicaldata
• CalRecycle, “2014 Generator-Based Characterization of Commercial Sector Disposal and Diversion in California,” September 10, 2015, http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/publications/Documents/1543/20151543.pdf
• City of New York, Department of Sanitation, “2013 NYC Curbside Waste Characterization Study,” https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/docs/2013-Waste-Characterization-Study.pdf
• City of New York, Mayor’s Office of Environmental Coordination, CEQR: City Environmental Quality Review, Technical Manual (NY, City of New York: 2014), http://www.nyc.gov/html/oec/downloads/pdf/2014_ceqr_tm/2014_ceqr_technical_manual.pdf
• City of New York, Department of Sanitation, “New York City Commercial Solid Waste Study and Analysis, 2012 Summary Report,” August, 2015, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/docs/about_2012-commercial-waste-study_0815.pdf
• City of New York, Department of Sanitation, “2015 NYC Organics Collection Report,” 22, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/downloads/pdf/studies-and-reports/OrganicsCollection-LL77-NYCOrganicsCollectionReport-2015.pdf
• City of New York, Department of Sanitation, “Annual Report: New York City Municipal Refuse and Recycling Statistics: Fiscal Year 2016,” https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/docs/about_dsny-non-dsny-collections-FY2016.pdf
• Marathon Equipment, “Compaction Products,” http://www.marathonequipment.com/products/self-contained-compactors/rj-100sc
• US Census Bureau, “Quick Facts: New York,” https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/NY/PST120216
• Toter, “Waste & Recycling Carts” (Statesville, NC: 2016)
• US EPA, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, “Volume-to-Weight Conversion Factors,” April, 2016, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-04/documents/volume_to_weight_conversion_factors_memorandum_04192016_508fnl.pdf