Food waste

Pre- consumer food waste

Pre-consumer food waste is the food waste associated with food preparation.

University Food Services currently uses the Food Trak Inventory Software system to map out recipe quantities for regular purchasing and compares that information with daily “waste sheets” which track food waste and help to identify seasonal fluctuations of consumption.

Food Services invests in extra staffing to support an efficient waste diversion program, where all waste produced in the Cove and Mystic Market facilities is sorted by staff.

Post- consumer food waste

Post-consumer food waste is one of the largest sources of waste on campus, and although there is an organics collection program readily available on campus post-consumer food-waste is one of the largest contaminants in our landfill stream.

Facts and Figures from 2022 Waste Audit

UVic has an excellent waste diversion program where approximately 93% of materials on campus could be diverted into various recycling programs. However, our current diversion rate is only 79%.

This gap is mostly due to improper sorting of food scraps, paper towels, and paper cups which do not belong in the landfill bin.

waste audit 2022 landfill vs organic

wate audit 2022 bar graph showing the volume of organic material ending up in the landfill with post consumer waste being the highest, pre consumer waste second highest, compostable coffee grinds third highest, then compostable containers, and then chop sticks

Pre- and post-consumer food waste on campus

The waste audit provided valuable insights showing that all Food Services on campus are very good at composting their pre-consumer food waste, but there are opportunities to reduce waste through recovery programs.

Also, the primary opportunity to engage with students and employees regarding waste diversion is in the SUB, where over 80,000kg of post-consumer food waste is misplaced in the landfill bins.

bar graph showing the volume of pre consumer food waste in the compost bin across food vendors on campus with mystic market being the highest

volume of food waste ending up in the landfill based on food service provider on campus with the sub being the highest contributor.

Office of Campus Planning, Food Services, and Waste Reduction Services will continue to work together to identify opportunities to:

Reduce pre-consumer food waste
Develop Food Recovery Programs
Engage with the campus community to encourage proper sorting practices
Strengthen our waste audit methodology in alignment with the Aashe stars waste diversion methodology and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 3 Emissions framework.