University Food Waste
Written by: Ryan Martin
As a current student at the University of Connecticut, I am beyond concerned with the amount of food that, not gets only wasted, but thrown out instead of taken care of.
I know that issues exist because of too many recyclables getting thrown out with the trash, yet food is a recyclable item, is it not? Everything that is taken from this earth is taken for good, and just like the laws of physics and chemistry, what goes in must come out, or in the case of food, what comes out must go back in. However, food cannot go back in if it sits in a landfill, or gets incinerated.
Food simply can be composted. Simply. Put back in the earth for other plants to take back out. Simply.
But regulations concerning cost of using a separate means of disposal, time, health regulations concerning proximity of a compost pile to University Grounds, these all get in the way of a simple fact. A simple fact that in plain English means: there is no resources (or in other words, not enough caring to put aside or raise the resources), to resolve this little issue.
Yet, there are other possibilities that suggest even food that gets thrown out is taken care of naturally. We can assume that animals eat it out of dumps, or it gets carried by the natural cycle of nature back into nature. But this can only go so far as theory.
The comfort needs to exist. The comfort of knowing, for certain, that the food wasted is disposed of properly. Even if it is not directly taken by animals etc from a dump site, if it is recycled back into the earth, somehow, in some form, it will get back to every creature that needs it.
As I write this article, I have realized myself that I have not done enough on my part in order to solve this problem. However, in writing this, I have realized that I have raised awareness, not only to those who read this, but to myself. I also hope that those who read this, and are affected by a similar problem, are inspired to take a small step towards correcting a large problem.
Even if food does somewhat find its way back into nature from landfills, the principle of the matter is even more important. The resources and time are not given enough attention to solve a problem that has a simple solution.
I will tell you all who read this that I will start right away the quest to resolve this problem, as I have procrastinated in not going beyond asking questions such as “why?” Why is food thrown out?
I encourage all to read this as a personal statement from my own experiences, and to take action with similar problems. Thank you.
January 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 am
judging by your comments you may already be involved in an effort, but if not i would suggest you either get into EcoHouse (a dorm in West) or join EcoHuskies. either forum would give you and other concerned students more power and credibility to change things. and, believe me, what with state and uconn regulations, you’ll need all the power and credibility you can find.
rich
January 2nd, 2010 at 1:24 pm
That’s a great topic. I would think that universities will have the lowest level of food waste. Excuse my ignorance, but would be currious what causes the food waste in dorns. Is it because of the lack of storage options?
January 4th, 2010 at 11:30 am
Here in New Hampshire at UNH our left over dining hall food is composted and made into fertilizer. The fertilizer is then sold a reasonable prices to local farmers through a program called U-Do.
January 6th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
A great article and covering an important topic. If you are interested in another way that your university can cut back on food waste, check out our website: http://www.leanpath.com, or our blog: Food Wast Focus.
We produce automated food waste tracking tools. These help the foodservice operator to track the type of foodwaste (overproduced, burnt, spoiled, etc.), where it comes from (grill, salad bar, or different dining halls) and how much – in weigh and dollars. “Why”, “where” and “how”.
All of this information is downloaded to weekly reports that help the managers ’see’ where they are truly wasting food. They can then take action to REDUCE their food waste. Less food waste generated, less resources are needed for landfills and compost ares.
If you would like more information, contact me directly.
Jen Hancox
jhancox@leanpath.com