• There are no trashcans found on the dining hall floors to make sure everything is composted and sorted correctly.
• Students put plates with their waste on our conveyor belt, where it goes to the dishwashers who sort the waste into different bins for our SOMAT grinder.
• The SOMAT system will dispose of, extract, and pulp pre-consumer and post-consumer waste into a confetti-like mixture, reducing more than 100 tons of waste yearly.​
• Once the compost is ready for pick-up, it is taken by Closed Loop Organics to their plant. On the day of collection, our compost gets turned into animal feed, taken to another compost facility, or converted into energy by anaerobic digestion.
• If students want to compost, any food returned in the green OZZI containers gets composted by our dishwashing staff.

• We provide OZZI containers to students for takeout meals.
• OZZI containers are 100% recyclable. When they are eventually worn down, they can be broken down and made into other recyclable materials.
• Students take their food to go in the OZZI containers and can bring them back to reuse or turn them in. Our dining staff then cleans them and gives them to other meal-plan-holding students who want to do takeout.
• Any food that is left in the OZZI containers gets composted.

• Dining staff managers recover the leftover food in the dining hall and donate it to PantherPantry and a local downtown church.
• We mostly donate large tray goods such as casseroles and mac ‘n cheese.
• First, we cool or freeze the food for longevity.
• Then, the donations are placed in the freezer and fridge outside for pick up.
• The church also receives our dented cans and boxes.

• GSU Dining Halls are using LeanPath technology to generate reports on pre-consumer food waste.
• Any pre-consumed food waste is weighed with extra information documented.
• LeanPath’s Waste Management System allows us to control pre-consumer food waste by generating reports on food waste and guiding managers and employees on suggested ways to waste less

• PantherDining purchases regional produce and food products through GeorgiaGrown’s Athena Farms. ​
• Some items in the dining halls and cafes have ingredients sourced directly from our hydroponic Freight Farm on campus.​
• All of our seafood is MSC-certified.
• We compost with Closed Loop Organics.​
• Our reusable containers are from OZZI.​
• We recycle our cooking oil through Clean Energy Biofuels.

Ideas for new partnerships? Contact GSU Sustainability Initiatives!

We recycle our cooking oil through Clean Energy Biofuels using state-of-the-art “no spill” technology to ensure all oil collected is 100% recycled and used to create alternative fuels.​

• The dining halls do not have any trash cans on the floor to make sure all waste gets sorted properly. This way less waste goes to landfills.
• We have also switched from smaller plastic bottled condiments to bulk condiment dispensers to minimize our plastic bottle use and waste while saving almost $10,000 annually.
• We use Georgia Pacific’s Dixie Ultra® napkins containing at least 50% post-consumer recycled fiber and a content of 100% recovered material, making them great compost material.​
• All our dishware and utensils in the dining halls are reusable. ​
• We don’t offer straws in the dining halls to minimize our landfill waste.​
• We are proudly styrofoam free!

With the elimination of trays in our dining halls, we’re able to reduce water, conserve energy and reduce food waste into landfills, incinerators and wastewater facilities.​