Eat, drink and watch your waste
By Jennifer England, Assistant Campus Life Editor
February 25, 2008 | 2:45 p.m.
When students want the most for their money, they often load their trays with enough food to feed an army. Then they waste enough to feed more than 300 people.
Jefferson Dining Hall hosted food-waste audits conducted by Office of Sustainability employee and Ohio University senior Nathan Jud. Jud said that these audits are some of the most detailed performed by a university because they break down the waste into three categories: edible food waste, inedible food waste and trash.
The first audit, held Jan. 21, was done without any prior advertising to students. Hidden behind a white cloth wall, Jud and three Jefferson Dining Hall employees divided and disposed the waste into separate bins that were then weighed. Students appeared disinterested about the event, and few asked questions.
The results showed that from the 756 students eating that evening, almost 250 pounds of food waste was thrown away. This breaks down to more than five ounces of waste per student.
The second audit, which was also not advertised, produced similar results.
“I think a lot of times my eyes are just bigger than my stomach,” sophomore Rachel Godward said of her food waste habits.
The third audit, however, caught students’ attention. Students’ beloved blue trays were taken away during this audit to see if going “trayless” would produce less food waste. Many students voiced more concern about their missing trays than their wasted food.
“I didn’t like the fact that I lost my tray,” sophomore Matt Tokarsky said. “I think I got less food because I didn’t want to wait in line again. It’s just an inconvenience.”
Although the change agitated many students, the trayless audit did produce the least amount of waste. The 681 students who ate at the dining hall left 193 pounds of edible food waste, resulting in a little more than 4.5 ounces per student.
After eating dinner, students were asked to fill out a short survey about their thoughts on food waste. When asked how concerned they were about the amount of food waste they generated during the meal, more than half of the respondents answered they were either “very” or “somewhat” concerned.
Senior Emily Fulk volunteered to pass out surveys as part of her environmental health class.
“It’s amazing how people get so upset about a minor inconvenience when they know it’s for the greater good,” Fulk said. “I had no idea about the amount of food that’s wasted, and I thought this would be a good project to get involved with."
The final audit, held Feb. 18, presented students with hanging banners and informational posters detailing their waste habits. Jud was hoping for the biggest reduction when students were informed about food waste, but the results were comparable to the first two audits.
However, the informational signs did have an impact on many students. After reading one banner stating, “On Jan. 28, enough food was wasted on trays to feed 357 people,” sophomore Cullan Anderson shook his head and said, “It makes me not want to waste my food.”
Office of Sustainability Coordinator Sonia Marcus, who volunteered to sort waste at the last audit, said she was pleased with the more positive responses she had been hearing.
"I'd like to see even more stimulated interest around the food waste issue,” Marcus said.
Jud agreed, saying that the point of the audits was not only to document dining hall waste but also to make students aware of how much food they waste.
“Think about how much you waste each time [you are at the dining hall],” Jud said. “If you think you might not like something, maybe don’t even take it."
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