In Fall 2014, Simmons College, Emmanuel College, Wheelock College and Wentworth Institute of Technology all partnered with Casella Resource Solutions on waste diversion improvements, including single-stream recycling and back-of-house food waste diversion. This article highlights the increased diversion rates and positive behavior change these colleges have experienced as a result of working with Casella…
This article from Boston University’s (BU) independent student newspaper, The Daily Free Press, discusses the increase in food waste diversion to alternative organic waste processing methods like composting as a result of the Commercial Food Waste Disposal Ban that took effect October 1, 2014. The article highlights BU’s food waste diversion program, which was successfully…
MassRecycle’s 20th Annual Recycling Awards winners were announced at the MassRecycle R3 Conference held in Quincy on March 30. This year’s winners are: Individual Award: Heather Pillis, Ipswich, MA Municipal Award: City of Salem K-12 Award: Danvers School District Institution/University Award: University of Massachusetts Lowell Business Award: Hannaford Supermarkets Public Servant Award: Mayor Kim Driscoll,…
This article explains the various waste reduction and diversion initiatives that Fitchburg State has implemented since 2008. These include removing straws from dining halls, diverting food waste to a local pig farmer, and single-stream recycling. In addition, signage with alarming food waste statistics has been placed near disposal areas in dining halls, with the intention…
This article from EPR Retail News highlights The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC and its announcement of the groundbreaking for its first anaerobic digester that will be installed at its Distribution Center in Freetown, MA. The anaerobic digester will process unsold food from stores that is not able to be donated to regional food banks or…
This press release details the results of the 2015 RecycleMania tournament, a waste reduction and recycling competition among colleges and universities across 49 U.S. states and Canada. This year’s competition engaged 4.1 million students at 394 schools to recycle or compost 80.1 million pounds of recyclables and organic materials, preventing the release of 129,411 metric…
This article from sustainability@BU highlights the new recycling initiative that was implemented at Boston University’s Warren Towers dormitory during the Fall 2014 semester. By installing dual stream recycling on every floor of Warren Towers, the recycling rate in the building increased ten percent from September 2014 to December 2014. Multiple student and faculty groups…
This article from NPR’s “The Salt” details the rise of programs designed to rescue fruits and vegetables with visual imperfections from being wasted or thrown in the trash. Surveys in Minnesota and California suggest that anywhere from 5 to 30 percent of a farmer’s harvest is thrown out as a result of cosmetic imperfections. To combat…
This press release from Bentley University highlights food waste diversion that is taking place at the university. Sodexo staff in all of Bentley’s campus kitchens separate pre-consumer food waste. Additionally, in Seasons, the campus’ main dining hall, back-of-house staff separate and divert all food waste that is left on plates. Since Fall 2014, Bentley’s dining program has been…
This blog post from Spoiler Alert, a company based in Cambridge (MA) that has an “app” for connecting generators of surplus food to food recovery organizations, provides a visualization of food waste generation throughout the state and within the Boston metropolitan region. Staff at Spoiler Alert utilized publicly available food waste generation data from the state of…
