Food waste initiatives in the tertiary sector in Aotearoa New Zealand

Food waste is a global issue; 30 to 40% of all food is wasted. Despite a growing body of research, information on food waste in the tertiary education sector is lacking. The variety and size of foodservice operations at tertiary institutes provides an opportunity to address food waste and work towards Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3. We investigated food waste initiatives at 13 tertiary institutes in Aotearoa and identified challenges to further initiative implementation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff working in sustainability at each institute. The most common initiatives included worm farms (n=11), solutions for leftover foods (n=11), and composting (n=9). Challenges to the initiatives included: the Covid-19 pandemic; contamination of organic food waste destined for composting; attitudes of individuals and institutes; and funding and resources. Although a range of initiatives are in place, these approaches are near the bottom of the waste hierarchy. New initiatives should be developed to reduce the volume of excess food, focusing on prevention and avoidance rather than recycling and recovery. Tertiary institutes in Aotearoa should also adopt the “Target, Measure, Act” approach to tackle food waste, through setting formal goals, regularly measuring food waste, and acting by implementing a wide variety of initiatives.