Final answer:
Mary's dumpster-diving study of the waste stream at the student union discovered contamination in the compost bins, leading her to start a marketing campaign and urge the union to change packaging materials. However, more work is needed to promote sustainable practices.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mary’s dumpster-diving study of the waste stream at the student union was part of her thesis project in Environmental Education. For initially, she discovered that the material from the compost bins was contaminated with inorganic trash. At this point, it was being taken to the landfill and not composted.
Later, Mary started a marketing campaign to improve how the union informed customers what should go into the compost, landfill, and recycling bins. Subsequently, she urged the union to change to different packaging materials.
Mary inventoried the waste containers two times. In conclusion, there was a lot more work to do to educate and encourage students and facility managers to adopt sustainable practices.