AASHE Campus Sustainability Hub

Sustainability features are only as effective as their operators. While the second largest dining facility at Wake Forest hosts several sustainability features, the compost program was lacking in strength due to improper utilization of the equipment by the employees. To reduce cross contamination in the compost and increase overall effectiveness of the program, I created waste sorting signs, developed a training video, and worked with the management team and employees to improve operational practices. The organic waste extractor equipment, called the pulper, went from breaking down multiple times a semester (a result of harmful material improperly sent through) to zero times in the second semester. Additionally, non-compostable material contamination that was occurring daily due to lack of training was reduced to once a week after posting the waste sorting signs and disseminating their information. To supplement the waste sorting signs and ensure continued success of the program, I wrote and directed a training video to show incoming employees on the standard operating procedures. I was able to implement these important materials with assistance from the dining management team and staff.

Wake Forest University has a variety of dining locations on campus that are operated by a third-party contract company named Harvest Table Culinary Group. One location, North Dining Hall hosts four of these dining locations: Village Juice, Starbucks, P.O.D. Market, and the smaller of the two residential dining facilities, Hilltop Market, which serves an average of 400 campus community members daily. The building opened in 2014 and was designed to have low environmental impact. A LEED Silver certified building, the dining facility has many sustainability features including tall windows for maximum natural light, low flow faucets, dual flush toilets, efficient cooling/heating systems, and a pulper utilized for waste diversion. The pulper is a tool that grinds up food waste and extrudes water, reducing the overall volume of the waste to an eighth of its original size. This material is picked up by a local farm, called Gallins, which turns the pulped organic waste into compost and redistributes it to the community.

While the waste diversion equipment is present within the facility, the equipment is only as efficient as the processes in place and exercised by its operators. The need for an improved educational system was apparent due to 65% of compost bins having been rejected by the company due to contamination by non-compostable material, such as plastic and aluminum, in the Fall of 2022. Additionally, the pulper was enduring regular damage caused by detrimental materials getting caught in the machinery. Staff members working in the dishwashing areas were struggling to get a proper handle on best practices that were required to keep the pulper at optimum condition and keep contaminating materials out of the stream.

Further investigation into the compost contamination issue revealed deeper issues with recycling contamination as well. Through site visits and observation, a lack of standard operating procedures, signs, and training was apparent in the space. High turnover rates in the foodservice industry further exacerbates the issues leading to decreased efforts of proper waste management. Improved behaviors and enhanced training modalities for the staff was required to reduce the contamination of compost and recycling and to improve the University’s relationship with Gallins. I was tasked with ameliorating the waste sorting practices in the North Dining Hall and leaving lasting training materials.

While the North Dining Hall was built with sustainability in mind, due to the constant turnover and lack of adequate employee training materials, the sustainability features were neglected. There weren't proper processes and procedures in place to use the facility to its fullest, and compost contamination was occurring regularly. The overarching goal of the project was to reduce compost contamination by 50% and create a cohesive and lasting training program to initiate a more sustainably minded culture in the North Dining Hall.

To reach these goals, I set smaller objectives to complete throughout the school year. The first was to observe and explore the problem fully. This required site visits of the operations of North Dining Hall as well as conversations with associates. The next task was to create differentiated waste sorting signs to be posted above various waste disposal locations within the kitchen. To ensure the highest success and saliency of these signs, the next step was to introduce these signs to associates through preservice meetings and one-on-one conversations with management and staff.

Lastly, to document and maintain procedures to show existing and incoming employees, I wanted to create a video in which the best practices were clearly laid out and understandable. I also wanted the video to reach the employees on a personal level and create a sense of buy-in. The ultimate goal of my work was to create a culture around a desire to care for the environment so that behaviors would be motivated intrinsically.

To implement the project, I identified the areas that had the highest negative impact and needed the most improvement. The primary problem was the improper disposal of materials that were either breaking the pulper and/or contaminating the final pulp product. I first gathered information to create waste sorting signs and worked through multiple versions to ensure the items displayed were meeting the needs of the facility. For example, the North Dining Hall uses recurring menus so some foods and dishes are served regularly, and others are not served at all. Other considerations for this included the types of to-go packaging used by restaurants within the dining facility. Village Juice uses all compostable packaging; Starbucks, however, uses non-compostable serviceware, including to-go cups which can be recycled but bags that should be thrown in the trash. The dish return, primarily used for Hilltop Market, is often a site for discarding these to-go packages from the other three dining locations within the building. In addition to ensuring accurate and specific signs, ease of use and understanding was an important aspect to ensure success of waste sorting. This included using specific coloring and sticking to a simplistic design. A fellow Sustainability Intern and Wake Forest student, Olivia Page, whose internship focus was on design, helped me execute the signage. After the signs were completed, a meeting was held to discuss proper placement within the facility. Lastly, I presented the signs in a pre service meeting to the associates of the dining facility.

After the signs had been up for some time and gained familiarity among the staff, I began working on the training video. This required me to consider the best way to communicate the training objectives and to encourage the use of the signs further. I created a script and met with a videographer provided by the facilities department at Wake Forest, Justin Nifong. To complete the video, two rounds of video shooting, a voice over, an editing meeting, and countless back and forth emails, were required.

I worked with many different individuals to ensure the success of the compost program at North Dining Hall, each having a different role within its functionality. As the primary stakeholder, I was first introduced to Josh Suzuki, the Assistant Director of Hospitality & Auxiliary Services at Wake Forest who initiated the conversation about the need for this project. He oversees facilities and operations for all locations within the dining program at Wake Forest. He also maintains the relationship with Gallins and had personally observed the contamination on a daily basis, so he was invested in the success of the compost program. He helped me understand the problem fully and helped ensure successful implementation of all the materials I created. He, along with the management team with Deacon Dining, including Bernard Gannon, the Hospitality Services Director of the North Dining Hall, Chef Ryan Smith, the Director of Culinary Development, and Madison Fishler, the Registered Dietitian, showed me around the facility and provided me with opinions and input on my efforts. Additionally, I could not have been successful in my pursuits without my supervisor, Brian Cohen, the Assistant Director of the Office of Sustainability, who I met regularly with throughout every stage of the project.

The learning period, completion of the signage, and the video occurred during the 2022-2023 academic year.

August 2022 - September 2022: Understanding and learning about the problem with proper waste management at the North Dining Hall which involved spending time with associates in the facility, learning about the standards of waste set by the city, and understanding the current procedures in the back of house operations of the dining facility.

September 2022 - February 2023: Execution of the four signs for the project were completed and all stakeholders signed off.

February 2023 - April 2023: Writing of the video script and filming scheduling started. Throughout the semester, there were two filming sessions with editing in between and a longer editing period afterwards.

April 2023: The video was completed with all stakeholders signed off. A video showing occurred with all managers at Harvest Table Culinary Group at a leadership meeting to inform them of the work that had been completed.

The project was mostly financed by Harvest Table Culinary Group at Wake Forest University. I was a paid intern under the Office of Sustainability and was funded by Harvest Table Culinary Group. A major cost facing Wake Forest University, and a primary motivator for improvements, is the maintenance of the pulper. A work order to repair the pulper damaged by unacceptable material costs up to $7,300 in parts, not including labor costs. Wake also pays Gallins to pick-up full bin compost waste and the pulped organic waste, amounting to around $330 a month; however, if Gallins discovers contamination in a received bin, Wake incurs an additional $50 charge.

Some of the direct costs of this project included printing and lamination of the signage, which is also a recurring expense, as needed. Additionally, for the associates within the dining facility to properly execute the waste management practices, four large green compost bins were purchased totaling around $200. There is also a cost associated with The Facilities & Campus Services department at Wake Forest University to volunteer their time and usage of filming equipment to execute, edit, and produce the video. Lastly, there are various other recurring costs that Wake Forest and/or Harvest Table Culinary Group will encounter to maintain proper execution of the waste management practices, including acquisition of compostable single-use products, equipment maintenance, compost company pick-up fees and others.

Achieved desired contamination reduction goal: number of weekly contaminated bins decreased by over 50% as a result of the project initiatives - “Visible contamination has gone from everyday during the Fall semester to once a week in the Spring semester” - Bernard Gannon, Director of the North Dining Hall with Harvest Table Culinary Group at Wake Forest University, May 2023 - “From an observational perspective there has been less [contamination] than there was this same time last year. We haven’t had any Gallins rejections recently” - Josh Suzuki, Assistant Director of Operation with Hospitality & Auxiliary Services at Wake Forest University, May 2023 - No compost bins were rejected by Gallins in the Spring of 2023

Cost savings
- No work orders related to materials breaking the pulper were called in the Spring semester - All compost bins sent to Gallins in the Spring were accepted and therefore Wake did not have to take on the responsibility of disposing contaminated bins

Better waste management procedures: signage and video contribute to a new standard set for employees to properly sort waste

Increased sustainability awareness on campus: the employees at North Dining Hall interact with hundreds of students a day and so by creating a sustainability minded group of employees, the whole campus culture regarding sustainability is improved

The most important concept I grappled with during this project was weighing efforts to simply inculcate behavior change or to improve mindset change. The dining services at Wake Forest are continually improving on sustainability efforts, but the key to achieving maximum success lies in obtaining buy-in from hourly associates who execute waste diversion daily. While creating a culture centered around sustainability practices was an overarching goal of mine and the University, my more direct task led me to learn that behavior change can have an important impact on rewiring beliefs. Through implementation of educational material, employees’ habits are shifting away from mindlessly wasting materials to being more conscious about where to place different forms of waste.

Additionally, this project provided me with valuable insights into leadership and taking ownership. Undertaking substantial responsibilities, I had to navigate many different types of relationships that were required to the success of the overall program. Different stakeholders had both differing levels of care towards the project and influence in its success so I learned that effective communication can mean all the difference between success and failure. I enjoyed collaborating with a diverse group of stakeholders, each with their own perspectives and vested interests. Consequently, I honed my skills in managing the agendas of others while remaining true to my vision for the project’s outcome.

• Quin Wolters - Undergraduate Student | Wake Forest University

• Link: Project Video
• File: North Dining Hall Waste Sorting Signs