Auxiliary Services has seen a reduction in food waste this semester as a part of a food waste project to helps students make better dining decisions as well as limit the Dining Common’s overall waste.

In Fall 2017, the Center for Sustainability approved a $26,470 grant proposal to evaluate the amount of food waste that Georgia Southern University dining halls produce as well as come up with intervention strategies to help lower food waste amounts.

Although the project is ongoing and data has not been collected, Director of Residential Dining Greg Crawford said there has been a reduction in waste as the semester progresses.

“The presence of the project members does help with the reduction in food waste from our guests,” Crawford said via email. “As students better understand their dining plans and know that they can come and go as they please, this also helps with their decisions.”

Currently, waste collected is sent through a pulping system that extracts the water and reduces the amount of waste that is sent to landfills.

Crawford said that Auxiliary Services’ main goal is to not have, or have as little, waste and be as sustainable as possible.

“Overall, we try to make a concerted effort between our staff and educating our patrons about food waste and how we can all work together to curb our carbon footprint and reduce waste,” Crawford said.

Crawford said that Auxiliary services are still looking into methods to create a more permanent compositing program on campus.