{"id":20787,"date":"2017-06-26T12:17:52","date_gmt":"2017-06-26T16:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=20787"},"modified":"2021-05-21T12:22:44","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T16:22:44","slug":"unity-college-dining-services-sustainability-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/unity-college-dining-services-sustainability-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Unity College Dining Services Wins Sustainability Award for Zero-Waste Efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unity College<\/span><\/a> prides itself on being America\u2019s Environmental College, and its many sustainability projects, including its quick transition to zero waste in its dining and catering facilities, supports that assertion. <\/span><\/p>\n

The college\u2019s efforts to have zero waste in its dining and catering facilities were rewarded when Dining Services recently <\/span>won the gold<\/span><\/a> Sustainability Award in the waste management category from the <\/span>National Association of College and University Food Services<\/span><\/a> (NACUFS). <\/span><\/p>\n

Unity College was able to achieve remarkable results in just 8 months. The zero-waste program was implemented in August 2016, when the college examined the carbon footprint of its dining and catering facilities and realized how much waste was generated from food, utensils, napkins, and other disposable items. <\/span><\/p>\n

The college\u2019s Dining Services collaborated with the Sustainability Office and local business Exeter Agri-Energy to achieve its goal. <\/span><\/p>\n

The timing also worked out perfectly as <\/span>Exeter Agri-Energy<\/span><\/a>, a local renewable energy company that converts animal and food waste into heat and electricity, happened to be looking for more raw organic waste for their process at that time. <\/span><\/p>\n

Previously, <\/span>food waste had been taken to local farms to feed pigs, which had its limitations, as only certain food waste could be used for that purpose and the method didn\u2019t allow for disposal of plastic utensils, napkins and to-go cups.<\/span><\/p>\n

The results for the 8 months between August 2016 and March 2017, the period measured for the award, were outstanding: Unity College diverted 26.6 tons of organic waste from landfills and raised the overall campus diversion rate from 37 percent to 47 percent. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt America\u2019s Environmental College, we understand that natural resources are finite and have to be managed so very carefully,\u201d<\/b> said <\/span>Melik Peter Khoury<\/span><\/a>, president of Unity College. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWaste reduction within our food system is a very tangible example \u2013 it\u2019s also a natural teaching opportunity for our students. We\u2019re proud that NACUFS recognizes the work our team has done to integrate our college farm and available technology into our food systems as a model of sustainability education at work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

How did Unity College achieve its goal so quickly?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Jennifer deHart<\/span><\/a>, chief sustainability officer at Unity College, attributes the program\u2019s success to the people involved in the program. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had to pinpoint one factor in our rapid adoption of sustainable dining, I would credit our human resource: the staff, faculty, and students who engage in the sustainable food system,\u201d she said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSustainability is the mission of Unity College, and that often means that employees are attracted to work here because our institutional values reflect their personal values. We asked dining services employees for ideas, and they suggested several actions they were eager to undertake.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Measures undertaken by Unity College Dining Services to achieve its goal include:<\/span><\/p>\n