Food Waste Auditing at Three Florida Schools

Abstract

School cafeterias are a significant source of food waste and represent an ideal opportunity for diverting food waste from landfills. In this study, cafeteria waste audits were conducted at three Florida schools. Food waste comprised the largest fraction of school cafeteria waste streams, ranging from 47% to 58%, followed by milk, paper products (tissue, milk cartons, pasteboard, paper plates, and cardboard), and plastics (plastic wrap, packaging, and utensils). Metal and glass comprised the smallest fraction of the waste stream. Average total waste generation ranged from 50.5 to 137.6 g·student . There are two primary approaches to diverting school food waste from landfills: reduction and recycling. Food waste can be reduced through educating students and staff in order to change behaviors that cause food waste. Food waste can be collected and recycled through composting or anaerobic digestion in order to generate beneficial end products, including soil amendments and bioenergy. Over 75% of the cafeteria waste measured in this study could be recycled in this manner.

Analysis and Measures to Improve Waste Management in Schools

“…In school C the total production of waste was 7.3% higher than in school B. When the organic fraction is not considered, the situation described above changes only slightly, due to the low production of food waste in case C, which is common in those institutes where there is no canteen service [14,15], and to the fact that food waste was not taken into account in the quantitative analysis of case B. However, food waste generation in canteens can be very high, as demonstrated in a recent study on a primary school [16], where food waste accounted for 45.3% of the meals served.…”

The Effect of Vermicomposting Knowledge and Visual Cues on Fruit Consumption in the Middle School Lunch Room

“…Approximately one-third of all food that is produced in America is wasted, meaning edible food is discarded unconsumed and sent to the landfill (Blondin, Djang, Metayer, Anzman-Frasca, & Economos, 2014;Wilkie, Graunke, & Cornejo, 2015). This food waste can occur at any step of the food production and consumption chain; however, a large majority of food waste occurs at sites of institutional food service (Wilkie et al, 2015). Blondin et al (2014) estimates that an additional 25 million people could be fed if only 15% of the food waste in America was reduced or diverted.…”

“…School cafeterias are a major contributor to the substantial food waste in America (Blondin et al, 2014;Wilkie et al, 2015). (Cohen et al, 2013).…”

“…Methods to divert food waste School cafeterias are an ideal candidate for food waste diversion techniques, as meal preparation and service occurs on a large scale at a single location (Wilkie et al, 2015).…”

“…Composting programs present a cheap, low maintenance solution to the food waste problem (Gleason, Ause, & Hein, 2013;Wilkie et al, 2015). In fact, many schools have begun to integrate the concept of composting into the lunchroom as a way to reduce food waste, while teaching students about environmental stewardship (Wilkie et al, 2015).…”