Taking a Bite Out of Food Waste

Last year, Duke diners tossed away tons of uneaten food and scraps.

The good news is, most of this food waste went to an off-site compost facility for gardening soil to benefit the environment. Still, Duke is working to further reduce food waste through campaigns that include tracking uneaten food, eliminating food trays in some eateries and exploring providing biodegradable, recyclable or reusable to-go containers in two of the largest campus dining establishments.

"We want everyone to understand the importance of mindful consumption," said Nate Peterson, director of operations for Bon Appétit Management Company, which operates the Marketplace on East Campus and Great Hall on West, Duke's largest eateries. "We want people to realize they should only take the amount they will eat."

Duke earned an "A" for food and recycling in the College Sustainability Report Card issued last September by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. The report noted that Duke conducted an inventory of the dining facilities' environmental impact to help guide and implement best practices.

One practice Duke is using to reduce food waste is by tracking it through awareness campaigns. Bon Appétit launched "Taste Don't Waste" at the Marketplace on East Campus in February. For five weeks, staff weighed daily food waste and recorded it on posters. During that time, about 30,000 pounds of food was composted, instead of landing in a landfill.

The campaign hit home with diners: food waste at the Marketplace dropped about 35 percent from a daily average of 1,182 pounds the first week of the campaign to 761 pounds the final week.

"I think the large reduction was because seeing the amounts of waste written on the posters made people more aware of their impact," said Barbara Stokes, assistant director of Duke Dining Services. "Even if they had only left a little bit on their plate, they realized how quickly that added up."

In another effort to reduce waste and conserve water, the Marketplace on East Campus gave trays the heave last August. Stokes said less food is being wasted because diners carry plates, not trays.

Students in a Food & Energy class at the Nicholas School for the Environment are researching whether the trayless program can be expanded to the Great Hall on West Campus. The class is also investigating whether Duke should create an on-campus compost site and offer biodegradable or reusable to-go containers in the Great Hall and Marketplace, where plastic recyclable containers are currently provided.

"Food production is a great contributor to climate change, so this allows the students to learn research methods and help make an important contribution," said Charlotte Clark, the Nicholas professor teaching the course.

Duke senior Marissa Galizia, who is in the class, said the research is enlightening. For instance, the team working to find the best to-go containers discovered some composting facilities don't accept certain biodegradable containers.

"Along with the environmental impact, we also have to consider economic and social factors," Galizia said. "People always think that going green is easy, but there are a lot of variables."