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 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 press release from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) highlights thirteen New England organizations that have backed the Food Recovery Challenge, an initiative that encourages businesses, organizations and institutions to prevent food waste by donating or recycling food. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is among the organizations who have become “endorsers” of…
One-third of all food produced in the world ends up as waste. In this new report, the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimates the value of global consumer food waste at more than US$400 billion per year, and as the global middle class expands, that number could rise to US$600 billion in the next…
Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, began a food waste diversion program at the Higgins Cafeteria in 2007, and has since expanded the program to include multiple residence halls and most recently, the Academic Commons at Goddard Library. This article provides an overview of how food waste diversion to composting has spread across Clark’s campus, helping…
This radio story from WCAI, Cape and Islands NPR Station, and accompanying blog post highlight Falmouth (MA) resident Mary Ryther and her business “Compost With Me”, a small-scale residential and commercial food waste collection and composting service in Cape Cod. Ryther charges a nominal fee for food waste collection, and returns finished compost back to…
In January 2015, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and As You Sow, a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental and corporate social responsibility, released Waste and Opportunity 2015: Environmental Progress and Challenges in Food, Beverage, and Consumer Goods Packaging. The report is based on a survey of 47 companies in the quick service restaurants (QSR), beverages…
