One thousand, four hundred and ninety pounds. That's the total amount of food University students wasted in one day at O-Hill and half a day at Newcomb.
On Monday Jan. 23, members of Green Dining, a sub-group of Green Grounds, weighed the amount of food left over on people's trays from 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. at O-Hill. Two days later, they repeated the project at Newcomb from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Green Grounds group is a CIO that was formed in 2004 by planning and architecture students with the goal of encouraging sustainable building ideas, energy consumption and waste management, according to the CIO's website.
To measure the amount of food students wasted, volunteers from Green Dining scraped the excess food off of plates into trash bags, which were then weighed. The purpose of this initiative was to raise awareness about food waste to reduce the amount for the future.
The idea for the project began at one of the weekly dorm visits made by the O-Hill Dining Hall staff. At the meeting, Kendall Singleton, a third-year College student and resident advisor for Watson dorm, raised her concerns about the use of styrofoam take-out boxes, water conservation and food waste. Unable to tackle all of these issues at once, Singleton narrowed her focus on the amount of food wasted per student each day.
"Each person makes a difference in reducing the amount we have to throw away," Singleton said.
To accomplish her goal of raising awareness, Singleton and 25 other Green Dining volunteers paired up with the University Dining staff, including Mora Sims, the operations manager for O-Hill Dining.
In addition to guidance, the volunteers were provided a table near the tray return area where they could set up their weighing station. Sims explained Dining's excitement towards the collaboration between students and staff.
"We totally embrace student-led initiatives about controlling waste," Sims said.
After recording the overall amount of waste, Singleton computed the average amount of waste contributed by each student. The number of students was obtained by subtracting the amount of people who took take-out boxes from the total amount of students who swiped in for their meals. On average, each student wasted approximately four and a half ounces of food.
Students present during the weigh-ins had mixed reactions to the Green Dining initiative and the effect it will have for the future.
First-year Engineering student J.T. Ingram had his extra food scraped and weighed at Newcomb. Before he gave his tray to the volunteers, he and his friends had no clue what the group was doing or what organization they were representing.
Explaining his leftovers, Ingram said, "This was one of the days that I picked up something that looked good, I took a bite of it and was not such a fan anymore."
Ingram was also skeptical about the overall influence the project would have on the University's students. He acknowledged that most people would be concerned with food waste but said it is a habit that is hard to change.
"I'm not sure [the students] will take less food, maybe they'll feel a little guilty about it, but, in the end, they'll still waste it," Ingram said. "They'll assume the problem lies in other people."
Nevertheless, other students like Ryan Wall, a first-year Architecture student, had more positive feelings regarding the importance of making the University community aware.
"So many people take more food than they can ever eat, and it is a waste," Wall said. "It's important to raise awareness of this issue and, most importantly, explore some practical solutions."
Should support for this initiative grow throughout this semester, Singleton and Sims plan to repeat the weigh-ins. A second trial would provide new data to compare with the first trial to see whether or not students reduced their daily amount of wasted food.
In addition to a second trial, Singleton hopes to expand her Green Dining efforts to address her other concerns about dining waste at the University. The group plans to get in contact with other universities that are setting an example with their efforts. Furthermore, Singleton hopes to rouse interest to Green Dining with professors to help push her educational campaign.
"I think if professors get involved, it could really take off," Singleton said.
Singleton has also brought up the idea of a large-scale compost pile at the University. She said more research needs to be done about the financial aspect as well as finding an actual location for the pile. These efforts will continue to evolve as more people are informed.
"It's been a really exciting process, learning as I go," Singleton said. "It's funny how my aversion to styrofoam has developed into something way bigger"
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