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Waste Reduction Strategies at the LBC Molly Mangel, Tulane University Office of Sustainability

April 20, 2016 Project Overview

Tulane Facilities and Dining Services have been making great strides in sustainability in campus dining. As of Fall 2015, the OZZI reusable container system has been fully implemented in both Bruff-To-Go and the Drawing Board Café, saving thousands of to-go containers from being sent to the landfill each semester. Waste from food prep in both the Bruff Commons dining hall and the Lavin-Bernick Center (LBC) catering kitchen is currently being sent as pre-consumer compost to The Composting Network, a local commercial composting facility.

However, there is much more that can be done in reducing campus dining waste. The Summer 2016 LBC renovation brings with it the opportunity for Tulane Facilities and Dining Services to continue their commitment to sustainability by rethinking the concept of waste on campus. Three plausible waste reduction strategies at the LBC have been identified: implementation of a post-consumer compost program, expansion of for-here dishware, and introduction of the OZZI reusable container system. The simpler and more streamlined the chosen waste reduction system is, the easier it will be for LBC visitors to use. This project was designed with collaboration between campus actors in mind. Representatives working on the LBC renovation including Tulane University Facilities, Dining Services (Sodexo), University Planning, and Student Affairs, as well as student sustainability activists and a representative from The Composting Network were all invited to view a presentation on the three waste reduction strategies, followed by a discussion on each strategy.

Starting on the following page is the exact presentation that was given on December 4, 2015. Additional explanations for select slides are written underneath the slides.

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Summer 2016 LBC Renovation: Options for Waste Reduction

Molly MangelTulane University Office of Sustainability

 

An Opportunity for Change

Three options for waste reduction at the LBC have been identified: 1. Introduction of Post-Consumer

Compost Bins + Compostable Containers

2. Expansion of Reusable “For-Here” Dishware

3. Implementation of OZZI Reusable To-Go Containers

 

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Post-Consumer Compost:Pilot at the LBC

 

Compost 101Compost has been a natural Earth

process since the beginning of life. All organic matter eventually breaks down

and gives nutrients to the soil, creating an all-natural fertilizer.

A full compost program on campus will use the same principles that nature uses. We speed up the breakdown process by

sending organic waste to the facility at The Composting Network – where they have created an environment that supports microbial activity.

 

Over time, organic matter that is left out and exposed to oxygen and bacteria will eventually be broken down by bacteria to become a natural fertilizer in the soil. The Composting Network is a commercial facility in New Orleans that creates compost efficiently in their environment that supports microbial activity. By composting organic waste, we not only avoid sending it to the landfill, but we actually are turning it into something productive.

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An Opportunity for ChangeTulane Dining currently sends pre-

consumer food waste (scraps from food prep) from Bruff and the LBC to The Composting Network.

The Composting Network does not just accept food waste – they accept all organic materials.

All LBC to-go containers, cups, napkins, cutlery, lids and straws can be diverted to the compost facility instead of going to the landfill.

Under the current model:

Recycling Landfill

• Plastics 1 & 2• Aluminum

Cans• Unsoiled

Paper

• Styrofoam• Tinfoil• Sauce

Packets• Food Waste• To-Go

Containers• Cutlery• Cups• Lids • Straws• Soiled

Napkins

This graphic shows what Tulane’s waste management system looks like now. Everything in yellow has the potential to be composted.

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After compostable containers are introduced:

Compost Recycling Landfill

• Food Waste

• To-Go Containers

• Cutlery• Cups• Lids • Straws• Soiled

Napkins

• Plastics 1 & 2• Aluminum

Cans• Unsoiled Paper

• Styrofoam• Tinfoil• Sauce

Packets

With a triple-stream system like this, the LBC can drastically reduce the amount of waste sent to the landfill.

A New Tulane Standard By switching the majority of the items

typically thrown into the garbage at the LBC to compostable versions, waste becomes streamlined.

Goal: Make the process user-friendly,

uncomplicated, EFFORTLESS How do we accomplish this?

1. Get new waste bins 2. Change packaging and containers 3. Make sure everything is labeled clearly4. Have an effective collection system

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1) Bins – Recycle Away

Variations on triple-stream bins. In sustainable waste management, the color blue is used for “traditional recyclables”: plastic bottles, cans, and paper. The color green is used to designate containers for organic waste that can be composted, such as food and paper dishware.

1) Bins – Max-R

Max-R bins are fully customizable. We can put Tulane Campus Dining or Sodexo logos on the bins, as well as make the landfill bin smaller than the other two.

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2) Packaging and Containers Sample plates and take-out containers:

Compostable plates, utensils, and take-out container options can replace every type of containers used at the LBC. These are from The Composting Network’s catalog, showing that anything our current supplier is missing, we can order straight from the exact facility that would receive our compostable waste.

2) Packaging and Containers Sample cups, lids, straws, and cutlery:

For this system to work, it is imperative that all parts are compostable. Once the customers have to start separating things like lids and straws into different bins, it becomes too complicated. The same concept applies to the cutlery. If you are already throwing your container and used napkins in the compost bin, you should be able to throw your fork, knife, and spoon in the compost as well.

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3) Labeling and Communication

Example: University of Maryland

Above is an example from the University of Maryland. One thing we should emulate is their effective strategy of repeating colors (blue = recycling, green = compost, and black = trash) and icons and using their school’s mascot to bring a sense of school spirit. This has the possibility of student involvement, as in a student focus group or competition to design the labels and posters.

4) Collection and PickupCurrent pre-consumer compost

system: Currently 95 gal toters Pickup – daily, early a.m.

May reach dumpster or compactor volumes

Space in loading dock is tight

Labeling

Example: University of Maryland

There are issues with the LBC loading dock which would have to be worked out in order to accommodate for the new volume of compost—mainly a lack of space. There is a system already in place for the pre-consumer compost picked up to be brought to The Composting Network. The compost system at University of Maryland repeated the symbols from the trash bins on their toters, making it easier for the custodians to use.

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“For-Here” Dishware Expansionat the LBC

2008 Case Study According to a study done by Environmental

Management students, if reusable plates, bowls, cups, and silverware replaced 70% of the to-go options:

Source: http://green.tulane.edu/PDFs/GreeningDining.pdf

According to a 2008 study, if reusable plates, bowls, cups, and silverware replaced 70% of the current to-go options, there would be a 44% reduction in expenses and a 33% reduction in overall waste.

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An Opportunity for Change

With renovation, “for-here” system could be implemented in a more thorough manner:1. New dishware, cups, and utensils

1. Portions sized to reduce need for to-go2. Adequate space at serving stations and beverage

island for dishware & cups

2. Clearly labeled, visible dish return stations on both sides of the food court

3. Updates to dishwasher and dishwashing area

4. Train staff to encourage for-here options

New Dishware

Portions would have to be sized to be equivalent to to-go: i.e. if you order a salad at Wall of Greens, it should be the same size in the for-here bowl as the to-go container. There would have to be adequate space at serving stations and at the beverage island for holding dishware and cups.

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Dish ReturnQuad Side Bookstore Side

The current labeling at the one return station is tiny and very high up, this labeling must be improved in order to be effective. An equivalent return station should be on the bookstore side of the LBC, so that customers sitting on that side do not have to walk through the food court to return their dishes.

Dishwasher

The dishwasher would need to be expanded for a larger quantity of dishware. Another person may have to be hired to help run the dishwasher area.

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Training LBC Staff

For this system to work, it will be imperative that LBC staff are trained to ask “For-here or to-go?” otherwise the customers will forget that the reusable option is available.

OZZI To-Go Containersat the LBC

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OZZI at Tulane Since Spring 2014, the OZZI reusable container program at Bruff To-Go and The Drawing Board has saved over 20,000 containers from the landfill each semester.

If implemented in the LBC, the OZZI program could feasibly reduce the waste of tens of thousands more containers each semester, as well as reducing overall dining costs on a similar scale as the expansion of the “for-here” options.

Source: http://www.diningservices.tulane.edu/locations/reusable-containers.html

An Opportunity for Change In order to encourage customers to use this

system at the LBC:1. OZZI containers and tokens must be available at

the LBC2. A container return machine should be in the LBC3. A clear system for using the containers must be

put into place

OZZI Containers Depending on how OZZI implemented,

would need actions similar to “for-here” dishware: 1. Adequate counter space must be included

for OZZI containers at each station, including the beverage area.

2. Costumers must be able to get the containers and tokens at the LBC. A clear, functioning system must be put in place

for this, either at each individual vendor, at the cash register, or elsewhere in the LBC.

3. Updates to dishwasher and dishwashing area

4. Portions sized to the OZZI Containers

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Container Return

A container return machine should be in the LBC. It will be better in if it is the dining area than if it is in the food court, so that students can still return the containers during the hours that the food court is closed.

System Options Options for implementing the OZZI

containers’ use with each vendor:Require their use - like at Bruff To-GoRequire them as the only to-go option -

Paired with the reusable dishware as the alternate, “for-here” option

Sell all prepackaged food in them – i.e. the salads at Einstein Brothers

Allow the vendors to choose whether to accept them, along with compostable containers and/or reusable “for-here” plates

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Weighing Options

Synergies? Our options for change:

1. Post-Consumer Compost + Compostable Containers

2. Reusable “For-Here” Dishware 3. OZZI Reusable To-Go Containers

Options could be implemented alone or together1. Reusable “For-Here” Dishware + OZZI

To-Go

Anticipating the Commons The new dining hall will share a service area with

the LBC. Increase in traffic Opportunity to reallocate and share space for

recycling and composting

Opening about three yearsfrom now

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The New Bruff Commons has a planned opening in 2018, in the lot next to the LBC. For whichever waste reduction system is chosen, it is important to anticipate this change, especially concerning issues of the space on the loading dock. Discussion On December 4, 2015 this presentation was given to a group of key stakeholders, including students and staff from Student Affairs, Dining, Sodexo, and Sustainability. We were joined by Sodexo’s Regional Sustainability Specialist, Leila Virji. The group discussed the attributes and potential issues with each option. Below is a copy of the notes from the meeting.

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Steps Taken At the meeting, we realized that we lack data on the breakdown of customers who eat meals purchased

in the food court in the seating area on either side, vs. customers to take their meals “to-go” out of the building. Before a course of action was to be chosen, it was important to get data on LBC consumer habits. In February 2016, after emailing the meeting attendees concerning the next steps to take, Rebecca Harris and I developed a series of survey questions to be sent out to the entire student body as part of a planned USG survey:

The survey was supposed to be sent out to all Tulane student emails in March 2016, but ended up being postponed indefinitely.

In April 2016, I developed an alternate survey, to be done through in-person observation at the LBC by the Office of Sustainability interns. At lunchtime (noon) on April 6, the other interns and I stood at the exits from the cash registers at the LBC Food court and observed the actions of the customers after they had paid for

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their food and/or drinks. We monitored each side of the food court simultaneously. We marked down whether they sat down at a table by the food court, left the LBC building, or left to another part of the building.

Our findings from April 4 showed that 35% of the lunchtime customers sat at a table in the food court,

13% left to sit elsewhere in the building, and 51% of them took their food outside of the building. By this measure, 48% of the customers’ waste would be able to be caught by the bins inside the LBC, while 51% of the customers would be disposing their container waste elsewhere on campus.

The other interns and I noted that April 6 was a beautiful, sunny day, and we noticed that a lot of customers who were marked down as exiting the building actually sat down at the tables at the LBC Quad patio or at the tables at the Pocket Park patio. These customers’ waste could also be disposed of in the bins at the LBC, and so we decided that the next survey should include a “Patio” option for greater accuracy concerning waste disposal location.

Our next survey took place at 12 PM on April 15. As it was a grey, slightly rainy day, more customers

sat inside the building with their food and drinks. We found that 53% of the lunchtime customers sat to eat at the food court, 8% went, elsewhere in the building, and 6% ate on the patios, totaling 67% of customers whose waste could be disposed of in the LBC waste bins, while 33% of the customers that day left the building area and would have to dispose of their waste elsewhere on campus.

While these surveys only show two lunchtimes’ worth of observational data, the findings should be taken seriously. If 48-67% of the LBC lunchtime customers consistently stay in and around the LBC building area to eat, the use of compostable containers or for-here dishware could divert a large amount of waste from the landfill.

Date

Table in 

Food Court

Elsewhere 

in Building Exit Building

Total # 

People

4/6 Lunch 113 40 162 320

% Total 35% 13% 51% 100%

Date

Table in 

Food Court

Elsewhere 

in Building Patio Exit Building

Total # 

People

4/15 Lunch 177 26 21 110 334

% Total 53% 8% 6% 33% 100%