colleges and universities produce tons of food waste every year, and the vast majority of this waste goes into landfills. in a 2019 study, the epa estimated that over 20 million tons of food waste in the united states comes from on-campus dining at colleges and universities. students at franklin and marshall college in lancaster, pennsylvania are advocating for clearer dining hall sustainability policies.

using the same epa study’s generation factor of food waste produced in tons per year, per student (0.01) and franklin and marshall’s student population of 1,867, the amount of tons produced by f&m students can be estimated. the total comes to be 18.76 tons.

at f&m, this is, fortunately, not 18.67 tons going into a landfill, thanks to lancaster county solid waste management authority’s incineration of waste to create energy used by county residents. elsewhere, that food could go right to the landfill, where it would produce methane gas as it rots. according to the world wildlife fund, the production of the greenhouse gas methane from food waste in the us is equivalent to 32.6 million cars’ worth of greenhouse emissions. 

while incineration is better in theory, it still emits greenhouse gasses and pollutants. according to some experts, composting would be a better solution to deal with food waste. composting does produce methane gas, but is lower in emissions than from landfills while also creating organic fertilizer for use in gardening.

f&m used to compost food waste from campus dining, but no longer does so, partly due to the cost of transporting the food waste to the compost location. students can compost through lancaster composting co-ops, but this would be limited to waste produced outside of dining facilities or if a student is willing to take their food waste from those facilities to drop off at the nearest composting location. 

ava anthony, class of 2027, suggests that franklin and marshall college could follow in the footsteps of her high school, mercersburg academy, in managing food waste. mercersburg academy has three separate bins in their cafeteria, one for food, one for napkins, and one for general waste. the food is given to a local pig farm, where it used to feed the animals. the napkins are given to the same farm, which uses it as bedding for the pigs.

anthony said the school then received a discount on the products from the farm in exchange for the waste. this type of exchange at f&m would mean that the cost for transportation to a cooperating farm is lessened later on by a lower cost on food for campus dining. 

while talking about her high school’s program, anthony brought up an interesting point. she believes that food waste does not just include the actual food item, but also the waste produced in other areas in order to transport and prepare the food for students. this would mean that napkins, plastic utensils, etc. would be included in the food waste. at franklin and marshall, this would increase our food waste production.

dining waste includes not only compostable food scraps, but ancillary items as well such as napkins, plastic utensils, and other non-food items.

while the f&m dining hall has mostly switched over to reusable dishes and utensils, the majority of dining options on campus still use single-use items. both the cafes on campus and the three fast-food style dining options use paper boats, plastic cups, and plastic utensils. the dining hall uses paper boats for their vegan, kosher, and general diet friendly side. if this is all to be considered food waste, the weight produced by f&m drastically increases. 

the simple solution to reducing food waste is to increase storing options for leftovers. at f&m’s dining hall, the only buffet style option on campus, students may purchase a to-go container for a meal swipe, which they then bring back to the dining hall for it to be washed and they receive another.

while personal containers are allowed to be used for dining hall leftovers, students report feeling uncomfortable and as if they are breaking a taboo when they do so.

“i feel like a rogue in (dungeons and dragons), like i’m doing something illegal,” anthony said, when asked about how she feels taking food out of the dining hall, wrapped in napkins or in plastic cups. she says that if campus administration made it clear that it is okay to use your own containers, that more students would be willing to take food outside of the dining hall, including herself. 

according to students like anthony, there is progress to be made on franklin and marshall college’s campus regarding food waste. as a smaller campus, the college should theoretically have an easier time at reducing waste, but there are hurdles to this. when asked about what she would like to see in the college’s future, anthony said, “i would like to see f&m focusing on ways to sustainably get rid of food waste, and listen to its students’ thoughts and feedback.”