The ‘Greening’ of an Australian University: Onsite Composting of Residential Food Waste
Book Chapter ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
The management of food waste in the university sector is critical to the advancement of circular economy thinking. Understanding a university’s food waste stream is an important first step in developing an effective food waste management strategy. The results of a food waste audit, conducted over an eight-month period at a regional Australian university, James Cook University, showed that that 12,533 kg of food waste was diverted from landfill, which prevented 23.81 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere; furthermore, waste disposal costs were reduced considerably. The usefulness of the food waste recovery program lies with the ability to perform carbon footprint and cost-benefit analysis, as well as capture variations in food waste across residence halls. Design of an efficient food waste management program requires not only an assessment of the food waste, but also an understanding of student behaviours and catering practices that generate food waste. Hence, interviews were conducted with business partners on campus. The factors contributing to waste minimisation included serving style, type of food, having a second serving, organisational culture, staff training, ordering and accurately catering for the number of expected customers. Finally, the paper offers recommendations to other institutions on how to improve landfill diversion efforts.
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Material and Energy Recovery from Solid Waste for a Circular Economy
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9781032399768
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25
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CRC Press
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Boca Raton, Florida, USA
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