ETSU’s Department of Sustainability hosted the “Weigh the Waste” event last week to raise awareness about food waste.
ETSU’s Department of Sustainability and EcoNuts collected food waste in the dining hall the past week. Food waste was collected throughout the week to give students a visual of just how much waste is produced.
This year is the second year ETSU is participating in the event since COVID-19. ETSU and Sodexo coordinated to bring the event to students almost every month. Plans to increase the length of the event and host it more often are underway.
“Really what it aims to do is really raise awareness on food waste, so I don’t think people really realize how much food they probably throw away in a day. It was a way to make students and faculty staff that use the dining hall aware of what they’re putting on their plate and throwing away,” said Sustainability Coordinator Erica Malpass.
ETSU’s EcoNuts collect food scraps at a designated table near the plate collection. The scraps are placed in a clear bucket to give students a visual of just how much waste is being collected. The event aims to make people more conscious of how much food they actually eat and how much they end up throwing away.
“It’s for people to visualize and say ‘oh maybe I can think about not asking for a bigger helping’ remembering you can always go back for seconds,” Malpass said.
Malpass said this event was important in helping students and those who eat at the dining hall to be mindful of how much food they put on their plates. She says when people are aware and try to reduce waste it will help cut back on how much food waste ends up in landfills and how much methane gas from that waste is released.
The event was scheduled to have its last night of collection on Friday, but due to weather and campus closures, the last day of the event will be rescheduled.
