Virginia Tech and Radford University have received grants from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to assist in reducing food waste and developing compost programs at each school.
Radford University was awarded $203,000. This award includes support for an in-vessel composting system and hiring students to assist with food recovery operations and training.
Virginia Tech was awarded $3,530,497. This award will support the construction of an industrial scale composting facility with an intended yearly processing capacity of 2,700 tons, processing campus food waste and improving VT’s manure management practices.
A total of nearly $8 million was awarded to 12 Virginia colleges and universities to reduce food waste across the Commonwealth. The funding, provided through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, will support a wide variety of food waste prevention, food rescue, and composting initiatives – all designed to divert food from landfills.
“DEQ is pleased to provide funding and partner with Virginia’s higher education institutions to address food waste,” said DEQ Director Mike Rolband. “Reducing food waste and encouraging composting provides a range of environmental benefits that will extend beyond these campuses.”
The projects will reduce landfill methane emissions by preventing wasted food, recovering surplus food to feed people, and composting any remaining food waste.
Staff report
