Lessons Learned From a Food Waste Audit

Mary Grace Miller, Anthony Williams and I along with Aramark and several students volunteered last week to audit the food waste produced by the campus community. Food waste is the 3rd largest item, behind paper and yard trimmings that is put in our waste stream each day (source: epa.gov). The goals of the weeklong event were:

- Gain firsthand knowledge on exactly what we throw away
- Estimate the average weight of the food thrown away each day per visitor to the dining room.
- Educate the campus community on what happens to food waste, how much we throw away and to promote community involvement.

The process was simple. As plates were returned volunteers scraped remaining food from each plate into a container. When the container was full we weighed the waste. Generally each container held 12 pounds of food. We also took note as to what items were not eaten. As an example on Thursday at lunch Anthony and I noted that large portions of the Thai Pasta and sub sandwiches that were being discarded. Most of the comments in reference to the pasta were that it “tasted awful.” I tasted the Thai Pasta it was delicious! Most did not realize it was Thai. They had expected a buttery flavor. Comments in reference to the sub were that “It was too big.” They could not eat the whole sub. Lesson learned for Aramark was more signage describing cooked dishes and smaller size subs. Everyone can always go back for more. Individual lesson is that we should take smaller portions and return for more.

The amount of food waste the campus community creates if extrapolated out seems to be a little higher than the national average of .57 pounds per individual per day. Our study was not based on exact science. We did make some assumptions. As an example we assumed the same amount of waste produced for one meal was repeated for two other meals each day per individual. Assuming 3 squares a day. Either way you add it up, it is a little unnerving to empty 12 pound pales of processed food into the trash can. Food waste goes from your plate to the trash can to the dumpster to the landfill.

Consider These Facts When Preparing Food and Preparing Your Plate

- Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food we prepare, about 96 billion pounds of food waste each year.3
- The nation spends about 1 billion dollars a year to dispose of food waste.3
- In 2007, almost 12.5 percent of the total municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in American households was food scraps.3
- The decomposition of food and other waste under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide.3
- One ton of methane has the global warming potential of 23 tons of carbon dioxide. A single dairy cow produces the equivalent to over 1.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide.1
- Through the process of digestion, livestock emit 16% of the world's annual production of methane gas. 1
- Raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined. 2
- The livestock industry alone is responsible for 37 percent of human-induced methane emissions. Methane has 21 times the global warming potential of CO2. 2

1. World Watch Institute. (2004, July/August). Meat: Now It's Not Personal. World Watch.
2."Rearing Cattle Produces More Greenhouse Gases Than Driving Cars, UN Report Warns," UN News Centre, 29 Nov. 2006.
3. Epa.gov