"Waste Not" is a Market Place program designed to reduce our impact on the environment. We participate in a student-initiated composting program at Hillcrest to investigate ways to turn our food waste into organic matter for fertilizer. As part of our community, students can help by taking only what they intend to eat and limiting the amount of waste they create. Together, we can all make a difference.

Although the Market Places are "all you care to eat" facilities, students should remember that taking food that they don't intend to eat is bad for the environment and consuming more than their bodies require is bad for their health.

Americans throw away more than 25% of the food we prepare, about 26 million tons annually. That means that each person generates an average of 4.6 pounds of solid waste per day! Burge Market Place serves approximately 3950 meals per day and Hillcrest Market Place serves 3100. Reducing the amount of waste in our Market Places could mean less waste delivered to landfills and reduced costs.

When food rots, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas which the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says is 20 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide. Methane traps 23 times as much heat in the atmosphere as the same amount of carbon dioxide.

Both Burge and Hillcrest Market Places participate in composting programs, sending pre-consumer food waste to be composted.

Metal and plastic packaging utilized in food preparation are also recycled.

The fact is, that even with composting, food waste is damaging to the environment. Moderation in food choices and amounts is the key to healthy students and a healthy planet.