{"id":361,"date":"2018-01-03T11:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T16:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www-staging.bu.edu\/dining\/waste-reduction-diversion\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T11:52:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T15:52:41","slug":"waste-reduction-diversion","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dining\/sustainability\/waste-reduction-diversion\/","title":{"rendered":"Waste Reduction and Diversion"},"content":{"rendered":"

BU Dining Services was involved in the development of the University\u2019s Zero Waste Plan.<\/a> We are constantly developing new initiatives and taking steps to reduce waste to help achieve Zero Waste by 2030.<\/p>\n

In order to be successful, we need the entire BU community\u2019s engagement and support.<\/p>\n

Food Waste<\/h2>
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We are actively working to reduce food waste on campus, both pre-consumer food waste \u2013 food waste generated before food is served \u2013 and post-consumer food waste \u2013 food waste from people\u2019s plates. We follow the US EPA’s Wasted Food Scale<\/a> which ranks the most to least environmentally preferable ways to minimizing and managing food waste.<\/p>\n

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Pre-Consumer Waste<\/h3>
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Every day, we take steps to minimize the amount of pre-consumer waste we generate in our kitchens, such adjusting production volumes, cooking to order and in small batches, repurposing leftover ingredients, and retraining knife skills.<\/p>\n

We use a sophisticated technology called StreamLine to identify and reduce pre-consumer food waste in all dining halls. Real-time data identifies the quantity of the specific food item wasted and sends that information to our menu management platform. With this information, BU Dining strategically adjusts production volumes and purchasing to minmize wasted food, as well as as identifies opportunity areas for knife skills training and creatively repurposing ingredients.<\/p>\n

Pre-consumer waste can include trim waste, overproduction, expired food, spoiled food, and food wasted because of quality, equipment failure, handling, or catering guarantees. About 2\/3 of pre-consumer food waste is inedible trim from produce and meat.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Fall 2025 we launched a partnership with Too Good To Go<\/a>, selling discounted Surprise Bags of surplus food from locations within the GSU Food Hall as well as the Marciano Commons, Warren Towers, and West Campus dining halls. In the first eight months of the partnership we sold over 1,175 Surprise Bags<\/strong>, which prevented over 1,600lbs of food from being wasted<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Whenever possible, we recover surplus food for donation. We work with three local partners: Food For Free,<\/a> Rescuing Leftover Cuisine<\/a>, and BU\u2019s Student Food Rescue program<\/a>. Between July 2024 and June 2025, we donated nearly 3,200lbs of food <\/strong>– equivalent to more than 2,600 meals –\u00a0from our residential dining halls, retail locations, and catering operations.<\/p>\n

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Post-Consumer Waste<\/h3>
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Through waste tracking we know that post-consumer waste accounts for about 75% of food waste<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

BU Dining Zero Waste Guides lead ‘Weigh the Waste’ events in each dining hall throughout the semester. These events not only serve as an opportunity to highlight the collective amount of post-consumer waste generated on campus, but also provide us with valuable information on what foods are being wasted and why so we can implement changes to support waste reduction\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Some of the changes we have implemented as a result of these events include: plating every other burger without a bun, offering smaller slices of pizza, removing the default starch from some entrees, and offering lettuce wraps.<\/p>\n

Over the course of 39 events in AY25\/26, the average student generated about 1.60z of food waste per meal<\/strong>. Since we began holding Weigh the Waste events, we have seen a 50%+ reduction<\/strong> in average edible food waste per person.<\/p>\n

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Non-Food Waste<\/h2>
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Whenever possible, we try to use single-use materials that can either be diverted from the trash stream (i.e. aluminum cans, fiber containers, unbleached napkins) or are made of plant-based materials. We do not use Styrofoam food packaging or plastic straws in our operations.<\/p>\n

Boston University has decided to remove plant-based plastics from the food waste stream on campus. While these items are plant-based, they take significantly longer to break down than food and fiber-based products and pose challenges for our waste haulers. Please place used plant-based plastic cups, lids, utensils, and containers in trash receptacles. When food waste collection is available, empty leftover food into the food waste bin before throwing away plant-based plastic.<\/p>\n

Some of our initiatives to reduce single-use waste include:<\/p>\n