Sustainability at Southside

Utilizing Emerging Technologies and Innovations

At our new Southside resident dining facility we are approaching our “Go Green” program from three different angles: 1) Processes, 2) Materials, and 3) Food Items.

In brief:

1)Processes are: recycling food waste by using a local commercial composting facility, recycling materials such as glass, metals and plastics; recycling kitchen waste oil, and going tray-less in the dining facility.

2) Materials are: using "green" biodegradable chemicals where ever possible, using strictly biomass take out containers in the "Gold Rush" take out facility, not using any disposable products in the dining facility, accept recycled napkins, otherwise no straws, packets of condiments, etc.

3) Food items are: using and featuring local and/or organic produce where it is practical and possible, seasonally adjusted, using local vendors when ever possible and offering freshly prepared and cooked healthy food alternatives where practical with nutritional information noted on all food venues. As an example, the grill will obviously offer hamburgers, but we will offer other healthier options as in grilled chicken breast and vegetarian/vegan options of a spicy black bean burger or a vegan veggie burger to name a few.

How Dining is Reducing its Carbon Footprint...

Recycling: We have incorporate color coded bins in the kitchens:

1) Blue containers are for mixed recyclables: glass, cans, and plastics.

2)Tan containers are for food waste, and are processed through the pulper, placed in bio-degradable trash liners, and placed into the compost compactor.

3) Black containers are for all non recyclable items. On the loading dock there are large black cardboard recycling bins, which the university will pick up daily and brought to the on campus recycling center for further processing, plus a holding area for full containers.

Eco-Friendly Chemicals: We use every eco-friendly, “Green Certified” Eco Lab chemicals that are currently available for both machine dishwashing and manual pot washing, floor cleaners, and detergents.

Trayless Dining: We use a trayless dining environment to reduce water and chemical usage. Other universities and colleges that have incorporated this program are saving thousands of gallons of water a day, a precious natural resource these days. Trayless dining drastically reduces food waste, because diners will have to visit each food venue separately, as they are spaced throughout the entire dining room area.

Pulping/Composting: We have an extractor machine in the dishwashing room on the second floor connected to a pupler in the back kitchen facility one the first floor that will be used to pulp/shred all the food waste, which will then be picked up by a local hauler and transported to a commercial composting facility in Maryland to be recycled.

Eco-friendly/Biodegradable products and service ware: We only use environmentally friendly and biodegradable take out service ware like clamshell-style take out containers (both for hot and cold food), flatware, cups and lids (hot and cold), soup containers, napkins, trash liners, carry out bags, stir sticks, portion cups and straws. These items reduce our demand for plastics and petroleum products and don't add to landfills or commercial incinerators. We spend time educating our students on recycling our eco-friendly containers, but they will also degrade in commercial landfills, starting in approximately 60 days. They are made from a variety of different products like sugar cane, corn (PLA – poly lactic acid) and potato byproducts.

Eco-friendly Dining Environment: In the dining room and carry out facility, we have removed all commercially prepared portion controlled packets. Items like ketchup, mayonnaise, mustards, BBQ sauce, etc are all available in new Heinz pump stations and the plastic bag the condiments come in are recycled. Items like sugars, sweeteners, cereals, etc are available in bulk dispensers not little packets. Any product available that is not dispensed is available in eco-friendly portion cups for carry out.

Kitchen Oil Waste: All the used kitchen oil on the entire campus is removed by our local FiltaFry franchisee and then turned into bio-diesel.