A team of undergraduates dug through your trash this month, searching for solutions to a growing environmental concern.

Harvard's trash has shown "an encouraging trend towards significant waste reduction" over the past year, though much of what is still discarded could be recycled, the Environmental Action Committee (EAC) reported in its second annual waste audit.

The Nov. 11 audit analyzed the contents of 32 trash bags selected at random from undergraduate residential buildings.

The intent of the audit was to provide an "accurate way to see what people are throwing away," said Kunal Merchant '01, co-chair of the EAC recycling committee.

In addition to already-existing data on what Harvard is recycling, the audit seeks to find "what kinds of things people are systematically throwing away that they should not be," Merchant said.

In line with national trends, the audit reported that the number of recyclables discarded with trash is decreasing. Compared to last October, recyclables collected from Houses and dorms has dropped by 10 percent. Recyclable paper, cardboard, cans and bottles are also composing a lower percentage of waste.

Trash is getting bulkier, according to the audit. Fluffy materials like wrappers and boxes from late-night snacking and packing material like styrofoam contributed to this trend.

Construction contractor building debris filled two of the 32 bags audited. Harvard should not be paying for the removal of the contractors' waste or the public's garbage, the EAC noted.