Food waste is generated across university campuses and JMU is no exception. Departmental events, student organization meetings, faculty gatherings, guest speaker presentations, and recruiting sessions often generate food waste that isn't collected separately from landfill waste.

Food waste contains valuable nutrients that can be recovered through composting, allowing them to return to agricultural soils and support a more circular food system.

The Challenge

Currently, food waste is mostly sent to landfills, where microbes decompose it. During this process, microbes generate methane and carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Therefore, landfilling food waste wastes valuable resources and creates an environmental challenge.

Research Goals and Approach

This project aims to quantify the amount of food waste generated at events within the Department of Engineering and characterize its composition through wet chemistry analyses.

The collected food waste will then be composted, and the lab data will be used to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions avoided by diverting food waste from landfills.

Potential Impact

Students will also evaluate how food waste could be utilized in engineered processes to recover energy and nutrients more effectively.

Research Team

Faculty Lead

• Dr. Pedro Puente

Student Researchers

• Carlyn Middleton
• Flint Gashaw
• Francesca Hasenauer
• Matthew Purdy
• Mitchell Tauber
• Sophia Koontz