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A recent student-initiated survey led to the discovery that 70% of our students admitted that they sometimes waste food in the canteens. Most of these students felt that the portions were simply too large. The survey was a great start in understanding the problem, and led to the next inevitable question: just how much food waste is there?
However, getting the answer to these questions meant getting dirty. Really dirty! The only way to really find out is to open bags of trash, grab the waste, separate it into piles, and weigh it. Over a span of two months, students put on protective suits, rubber gloves, and masks and started opening up trash bags and getting some "hands-on" experience in waste auditing. Concentrating on all nine food service locations on campus, students observed that the bags from the kitchens also contained lots of food scraps, as well as moldy bread and other vegetable clippings not good enough to be served. Students expected most of the food waste to come food scraps left on plates, but it turns out that a very large amount comes from the kitchens too.
By the end the food waste audit, over 20 students participated, and many of them more than once. They worked through leaky bags, stifling smells, heavy portions, and very gross slippery slimy contents. They did so in heat and in drizzle. But in true HKUST fashion, they laughed through everything, joking, smiling, and enjoying the tasks and warm company of their peers.
What did they find?
- In total, we produce around 2.5 tons of food waste from all canteens on average on a weekday during the semester.
- Around 83% of total wastes generated from most of our caterers are food waste.
- Nearly half of the food waste comes from kitchen areas. A sizable portion of post-consumed food waste is rice.
- After removing the recyclable materials, the remaining trash that is not compostable or recyclable is less than 10%.
- There are additional opportunities to reduce trash if we switch to reusable cutlery and reduce packaging and disposables.
Going forward, we now have a much better idea of the situation and will plan accordingly – including the purchase of a new composting machine. We also know that the "less rice" option in the canteens could produce much better results than we thought, if more people will choose that option. We also learned that HKUST students are tough and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. |
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