Culinary Services implements systems to reduce carbon footprint
Author: Anthony Scilla,
In the fall, Kent State Culinary Services brought the PlanetOZZI system to campus, a reusable system in the dining halls that promotes environmental friendliness. The system has been successful so far, according to Casey Crane, assistant director of sustainability and purchasing for Kent State Culinary Services. She saw the system being used by other universities and knew it would be a great addition to campus. Sommer Dunlevy, the assistant director of marketing for Culinary Services, said the university has struggled in the past to find a compostable vendor for food waste, which is what Grind2Energy targets. “We’ve talked to several companies,” Dunlevy said, “but either there’s a concern that we have more volume than they can handle or we’re so far away from their compost piles that it’s not really a net positive when it comes to sustainability.” The system shreds organic food waste, which is then moved into a large and transpod off campus. “It only takes organic food matters, so it doesn’t allow for paper substrates, which is why we can’t put compostable disposables into it,” Crane said. “But if it’s food-organic matter, basically you run it through this large garbage disposal, grind it up into this pulp and put it into a pneumatic tube that is then squeezed out into a giant tank that is bigger than my office.”