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Sierra Club: UC-Irvine tops in waste management

School also named greenest in the country by the same source.

Mike Buzalka, Executive Features Editor

October 2, 2015

1 Min Read
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The University of California Irvine topped a list of colleges compiled by the environmentalist group the Sierra Club that ranked the schools based on a set of criteria related to waste management. The waste management score was one of a number of factors used in a broader ranking to determine America’s Greenest Universities, which UC-Irvine also led.

The school scored 104.33 points out of a possible 105 on the waste management scale due to factors such as its recycling and composting program, which has resulted in an 83 percent diversion rate in 2014, and the fact that all three of its dining commons operate at zero waste.

The University of Maryland at College Park, Smith College, the University of California San Diego and the University of Missouri at Kansas City rounded out the top five in the waste management rankings.

While many of the criteria are not directly related to dining operations, a couple of the schools in the top five were noted for dining related efforts, such as Smith’s use of bulk dispensers in student dining rooms to reduce packing materials and its ban on the sale of bottled water on most of the campus.

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]

About the Author

Mike Buzalka

Executive Features Editor, Food Management

Mike Buzalka is executive features editor for Food Management and contributing editor to Restaurant Hospitality, Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News. On Food Management, Mike has lead responsibility for compiling the annual Top 50 Contract Management Companies as well as the K-12, College, Hospital and Senior Dining Power Players listings. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English Literature from John Carroll University. Before joining Food Management in 1998, he served as for eight years as assistant editor and then editor of Foodservice Distributor magazine. Mike’s personal interests range from local sports such as the Cleveland Indians and Browns to classic and modern literature, history and politics.

Mike Buzalka’s areas of expertise include operations, innovation and technology topics in onsite foodservice industry markets like K-12 Schools, Higher Education, Healthcare and Business & Industry.

Mike Buzalka’s experience:

Executive Features Editor, Food Management magazine (2010-present)

Contributing Editor, Restaurant Hospitality, Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News (2016-present)

Associate Editor, Food Management magazine (1998-2010)

Editor, Foodservice Distributor magazine (1997-1998)

Assistant Editor, Foodservice Distributor magazine (1989-1997)

 

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