Monthly Archives: March 2008

Talkin’ Trash

With college basketball’s season reaching its peak, it’s only fitting that we talk some trash. Or rubbish. In The Rubbish Diet, British blogger “Almost Mrs. Average” completed her eight-week challenge to reduce what she sends to the landfill. After composting and giving some items to her three-year-old for art projects, the family produced one item […]

March 17, 2008 | Posted in Composting, Household, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Art or Waste?

Yes. Check out the entire set of photos from Mika Anderson’s amazing “Splashening” shoot and a wider range of fruit splahes here. I had mentioned on Friday that if you’re going to waste food, you may as well make art with it. These beautiful shots certainly fit that description. From a waste perspective, however, I […]

March 15, 2008 | Posted in General | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

For your listening pleasure, check out this discussion of food waste on BBC/Radio 4’s The Food Programme. — — If college food waste is caused partly by students not liking the choices, will a student menu rating Web site help? Middlebury College will see. — — This Subaru plant in Indiana is a “zero-waste” facility. […]

March 14, 2008 | Posted in College, Friday Buffet, Institutional, International | Comments closed

Abandoned Apple

What do you do when you bite into an apple and find part of it is bruised? This apple’s former owner dropped it on the ground outside of Trader Joe’s, where apples sell for 59 cents each. Personally, I eat around soft spots or prune them when I’m at home. Sure, this kind of food […]

March 13, 2008 | Posted in Household | Comments closed

Studying Waste

A friend sent me this useful waste diversion presentation created by the Biodegradable Products Institute. The Power Point doc, which takes a bit to load, has some eye-opening statistics about how much food is in our trash. In slide six, we see that food scraps make up the largest portion of the waste stream. It’s […]

March 12, 2008 | Posted in Composting, Stats, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Comparison Wasting

Filipinos, or Pinoys, waste 1.2 million tons of rice each day. That amounts to a spoonful of rice per person, according to this article in the Philippine Star. In response, the Filipino government has launched a rice conservation program and an advocacy campaign. Well, folks, we Americans waste about 40 percent of all the food […]

March 11, 2008 | Posted in International, Stats | Comments closed

Yes, UConn!

The University of Connecticut concluded a three-week trayless experiment (that we previewed) and it was a success. The per student waste decreased by 28 percent when trays were not available. The first week included food waste awareness materials and weighing food waste to serve as the experiment’s control. The second week, Whitney dining hall went […]

March 10, 2008 | Posted in College, Trayless | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

The beef recall saga continues, unfortunately. — — I’m sad to report that students at my alma mater are wasting lots of food. Come on, Wesleyan–you’re better than that. — — On the other side of the college coin, Columbia University has begun a “Trayless Thursdays” experiment. Ditto for Williams College. Not to split hairs, […]

March 7, 2008 | Posted in College, Food Safety, Friday Buffet, International, Trayless | Comments closed

Built-in Waste

Tuesday I linked to an article on the massive food waste in Britain. Buried deep within that piece was a fascinating quote that warrants discussion: Tim Lang, food policy professor at City University, said: “Waste is a fundamental part of the food economy and it will be hard to get rid of. I do not […]

March 6, 2008 | Posted in International, Restaurant | Comments closed

Finish Your Liver!

I attended the 8th annual Organics Recycling Summit yesterday in Massachusetts. It was a useful conference that focused on how to prevent food waste from going to landfills. Lots on composting and, my favorite, anaerobic digestion. Among other things, I learned more about the impressive Massachusetts Supermarket Recycling Program, in which almost half the states’ […]

March 5, 2008 | Posted in Composting, History and Culture, Household | Comments closed