Food Waste Audit Conducted on SUNY Potsdam’s Campus (2023)

The New York State Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law, effective January 1, 2022, requires higher education institutions to compost all food waste. Supported by a grant provided by NYP2I (New York Pollution Prevention Institute), SUNY Potsdam, in collaboration with six universities in the North Country, conducted a food waste audit from February 20-24, 2023. A small group of students worked with PACES staff and student volunteers to collect pre- & post-consumer food waste and overproduction from dining facilities across campus. We collected data on the number of meals sold and the number of plates contributing to composting. Collected food waste was weighed and sent to a local composting farm. The number of meals collected for the week was 2,337 out of 12,608 total meals, or 18.54%. Waste collected equaled 3,008.84 lbs. Estimated waste not collected was 1,965.52 lbs. This data will help combat food waste in the future