Campus Sustainability Month: A Focus on Food Waste Recycling at New England Colleges and Universities

October is recognized as Campus Sustainability Month by The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), an initiative designed to engage and educate students, faculty, and staff at colleges and universities about sustainability and climate action. This annual event fosters a culture of environmental stewardship on campuses and encourages institutions to adopt practices that lower their carbon footprint. One of the significant areas of focus during this month is food waste management, specifically the innovative solutions rolling out across New England's higher education institutions, where food waste is being recycled through anaerobic digestion.

Massachusetts Colleges and Universities Leading the Charge

In Massachusetts, several colleges and universities are working to tackle one of the greatest challenges of our time – climate change. From volunteering in their communities to help plant trees to creating community and campus gardens, this next generation of young people are looking for solutions.

Across Massachusetts, and truly across the United States, college students are looking to the future and to their peers for solutions that seem impossible to reach. Like so many of the young people that took to the streets of Manhattan in 2019 that were chanting “There is No Planet B” at the Youth March on Climate, today’s college students are looking for ways to do their part.

As college students are sitting in the cafeteria and seeing the copious amounts of food being wasted, they are asking an important question – where does all that excess food go? For many it ends up in landfills or at incinerators, yet some colleges and universities are looking for a better alternative – and for some in Massachusetts they have turned to companies like Vanguard Renewables, a leader in organics-to-renewable energy production, to help solve that challenge. The Company takes food waste and recycles it into renewable energy at multi-generational dairy farms by combining it with dairy manure in an anaerobic digester. It’s one of the tools in the climate mitigation toolbox that these students are looking at as a solution to the food waste problem on campus.

Smith College, Amherst College, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst are three such schools that are leading the way. Each of these schools have committed to cutting food waste, recycling what can’t be eaten or donated, and raising awareness across their respective campuses about our nation's food waste crisis. Vanguard Renewables works with each of these schools to collect and recycle the food waste, creating a virtuous cycle – from farm to campus and back to a local farm to close a circularity loop.

All are standouts in the fight to send zero food waste to landfill, with Amherst College competing in the “Campus Race to Zero Waste” and coming out towards the top. Amherst ranked seventh overall nationally in 2024 competing against more than 80 colleges and universities in the waste diversion category. This is proof that the next generation wants to do better for the planet, and Vanguard Renewables is proud to have played a small part in Amherst College’s race to zero campaign.

Understanding the Food Waste Crisis

Food waste is a critical issue that contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions. In the United States alone, about 40% of the food supply is wasted, totaling nearly 133 billion pounds annually. As food decomposes in landfills, it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is significantly more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Therefore, addressing food waste is a crucial aspect of climate mitigation efforts. Another not so fun fact, globally, is if food waste were a nation, it would be the third highest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the United States.

An Innovative Solution: Farm Powered Anaerobic Digestion

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process where microorganisms found in cow manure break down organic matter, such as food waste, in the absence of oxygen. This process produces biogas—composed mainly of methane and carbon dioxide—which is captured and upgraded into renewable natural gas. The remaining materials are a digestate, that can be further processed to create a high-quality biofertilizer, and the solids that remain can be used for the farm’s herd or as a soil amendment.

By diverting food waste from landfills and recycling it through anaerobic digestion, colleges and universities can significantly reduce their carbon footprint while promoting sustainability. Going even further, as colleges and universities are looking to reach ambitious climate goals for 2030 and beyond, using renewable natural gas generated from the campuses discarded food can go on to fuel its campuses. This closed-loop solution is becoming an attractive and attainable measure for many schools as they look to decarbonize operations.

Educational Initiatives and Community Engagement

During Campus Climate Month, several of these New England institutions not only focus on improving their food waste management through food waste diversion projects that use anaerobic digestion but also engage their communities in sustainability efforts. Workshops, seminars, and initiatives are organized to enhance understanding of the issues surrounding food waste, climate change, and the importance of renewable energy.

Students are encouraged to participate through volunteer opportunities in campus gardens and composting programs. Events such as “Waste Audits” are conducted to engage students directly in measuring the waste generated on campus, prompting discussions on how to lower waste through better purchasing and consumption practices. These educational initiatives are essential, as awareness and community involvement are critical to the success of sustainability efforts.

The Bigger Picture: Climate Action and Policy

The efforts made by these colleges and universities align with broader state and national climate action goals. In recent years, New England states have enacted stronger policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting renewable energy, and strengthening waste management practices. A recent study in the Journal of Science noted that of all the states who have enacted organic waste bans, Massachusetts has achieved a 13.2% reduction while the others have not been as successful. Yet, there is still work to do to make real change. Thanks to the students at Smith College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Amherst College who are helping to lead the charge in the Commonwealth and setting an example nationwide.

From the study noted above, it’s clear that states with organic waste bans are well intentioned, but without enforcement of these bans we are not doing enough to stem the changing climate. As this generation of students leave the confines of their colleges and universities, they will likely take their learnings from campus and incorporate them into their own lives. Whether that be at home, at the office, or even becoming change agents within government.

Here's hoping that those of us that might be a few years or more removed from our college days can take a page out of these student’s textbook and do the same.