| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 46.29 |
| Liaison | Thomas Frazer |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2022 |
University of South Florida
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 4.00 |
Thomas
Frazer Dean College of Marine Science |
Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at students and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at employees and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Name of the campaign:
A brief description of the campaign:
Graduate student Project Managers on the Recycling Bin Signage and Food Waste Recovery Program Student Green Energy Fund Projects led a yearlong educational campaign centered on sustainable waste management practices, particularly waste reduction, recycling, and composting. The campaign involved partnering with the county recycling department to compile and share educational materials and programs/initiatives, and to work together to create a webinar and giveaway opportunity. The students worked with a student-led marketing group called SAGO to create an Instagram account for the main platform of the campaign. The team also administered several surveys over the course of the year to measure level of knowledge and interest in recycling among the USF community. The students also submitted their efforts to the Campus Race to Zero Waste Case Study Competition in 2021.
USF Green Campus Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usfgreencampus/?hl=en
Webinar link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrDUXtefim_rQ5oyDplkpBQ
Campus Race to Zero Waste Case Study: https://recyclemania.org/resources/learn-from-your-peers/
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Positive Impact - reduced contamination in reycyling. Not measured.
The campaign was very important in educating the USF Community about sustainable waste practices, and it was also very successful. Over 1,000 followers (primarily students and prospective students) followed the account over the course of the semester. Furthermore, hundreds of students engaged with out surveys, which showed an increase in recycling knowledge and in students' interest/care about recycling and waste reduction over the course of the semester.
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
"[Whitney] Fung Uy and a team of students including: Kara Panesar (M.S. in environmental engineering, class of 2020), Naheed Perez (B.S. in cellular and molecular biology, class of 2020), Mitchell Jaskela (MPH), Zuleika Abueg (B.S. in cellular & molecular biology), James Hunter Ireland (electrical engineering), Alec Brumfield (environmental science), Michele Olive (environmental science), Fabricio Escobar (civil engineering), and Josiah Saneda (environmental science), are aiming to divert food waste from reaching landfills and reduce methane gas emissions.
According to Fung Uy, the goal of the project is two-fold: First, to divert pre-consumer food waste from campus dining away from a landfill and into student-constructed “biodigesters”— tanks that “digest” organic material such as leftover food scraps, and captures methane gas, which Fung Uy said is also called “biogas.” The biodigesters also produce organic fertilizer. Second, to bring attention to food waste and food insecurity among college students.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Final recommendations for USF to increase food recovery
Reduce food waste
Create a formal plan within the USF Strategic Plan to reduce food waste to reduce impact on the climate (e.g., food waste reduced is equivalent to reducing X amount of GHG emissions)
Assess baseline of food waste generated on campus by conduct regular food waste audits
Increase food recovery
Using EPA’s hierarchy, this is the order of prioritization
Recover food to support food pantries
Recover food to feed animals
Identify industrial methods
Anaerobic digestion at larger scale
Grind2Energy
Orca
PowerKnot
www.amgenviro.com
Co-digestion of food waste and other materials - sugar cane plates and tea leaves; solid waste
Composting
Community partnerships with community gardens or local composting companies such as Suncoast Compost
Establish formal policies with administration support
Support for food recovery should first come from USF leadership (e.g., President Currall)
Rationale: without administrative support, there is no motivation to support these efforts.
USF should officially announce/recognize the importance of food recovery and the efforts to prioritize its efforts
Rationalize: without a formal announcement, there are no clear expectations to incorporate food recovery in day-to-day operations
Education
Service learning - SAGO and other classes, peer-to-peer learning
& partnership with Student Government (SG)
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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