Sustainable Dining: Waste Reduction
What Are Others Doing?
New York University
NYU has implemented a tray-less dining initiative in the majority of their dining halls, reducing plate waste per meal by 44%. More specifically, breakfast waste has been reduced from 1.54 pounds to 0.93 pounds per person, lunch waste dropped from 1.98 pounds to 1 pound of per person, and Dinner waste has decreased from 3.03 pounds to 1.34 pounds per person. Additionally, the university possesses the largest food waste composting initiative in Manhattan, which processes both preparation scraps and plate waste, collecting thousands of pounds of waste per month.
University of California, Santa Cruz
After conducting waste audits and measuring waste in Dining Halls, UCSC found that going tray-less could reduce uneaten food waste by as much as 18 tons per year. Additionally, because trays would no longer need to be washed, they found that the university could reduce water usage by 3,000 gallons per day per dining hall location. After taking action, the university's overall waste has been reduced by 35%, and overall water used for washing dishes has been reduced by 1,000,000 gallons per year (UCSC estimated that water savings would be 300,000 gallons per year, their actual savings have been 3 times that amount). In addition, dining halls offer sampling cups so diners can try food before deciding if and how much they want, using the slogan “Be a taster, not a waster.” UC Santa Cruz also collects uneaten food scraps in the dining halls to raise awareness and bring attention to reducing food waste and minimizing the University’s carbon footprint.
University of California, Santa Barbara
UCSB recently implemented a student driven tray-less dining initiative that caused average food waste per person to decrease from 6.4 ounces to 2.95 ounces. It also reduced total waste per person by 37%, and average waste per person decreased 54%. In addition, UCSB has implemented an extensive composting initiative. The University now composts 100% of pre and post consumer food waste, recycling and diverting 90% of its total waste from the landfills. Under the new program, food waste is placed in large compactors and taken to composting facilities. The waste is then returned to campus (once per quarter) to finish the composting process, and once finished, the compost is used as the base for grass and plantings around campus.
