5 Sep 2023

Dining Facility Whole-Building Evaluation to Reduce Solid Waste: Opportunities and Best Practices for Optimization and Management of Food Waste

On military installations, an average of 1.2 pounds in food waste is dis-posed per person per day, accounting for 68% of dining facility (DFAC) refuse and 46% of the total installation refuse stream, making food waste the heaviest portion of installation solid waste. At a single installation, this can contribute up to 1.5 million dollars lost yearly from food waste alone. Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 4715.23 (DoD 2016) establishes policy and prescribes procedures to implement waste management through waste prevention and recycling. The US Army Installation Management Commands (IMCOM) installations have limited resources and limited personnel to study which source reduction methods are optimal to reduce food waste given their unique mission requirements. This study identifies opportunities for optimization and management of solid waste across IMCOM installations. Recycling is not enough to significantly reduce the economic or environmental costs to the DoD. Army installations pay over $100 million annually in disposal fees. Source reduction is emphasized in regulations but not prioritized in process modifications or technology solutions. Additionally, food waste contributes to excessive global greenhouse gas emissions, which affect global warming and climate change. A multitiered approach is necessary, placing more emphasis on source reduction advances and initiatives.