Food waste isn’t a problem generally associated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but the network of cafes and food service operations catering to VA facilities generates tons of it.
So the agency’s Veterans Canteen Service aims to reduce the food waste it sends to landfill by about 600,000 pounds this year by recycling used cooking oil and composting.
The canteen service, which operates VCS Patriot Cafes at about 180 VA facilities in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, recently completed two pilot programs for the initiatives.
The test of the cooking oil recovery program was the most recent. In the 30-day trial, which began Jan. 18, used cooking oil was collected from VCS Patriot Cafes in West Palm Beach, Fla.; St. Louis; and Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Temple, Texas. The canteen service worked with Quest Recycling, based in Frisco, Texas, on the project.
Source: GreenBiz
By Leslie Guevarra