Food
Food sustainability starts with the use of natural resources and ends with the recovery or final disposal of food in a safe and thoughtful way. WPI supports several initiatives for reducing food waste and managing excess, including sending our discarded food to Tyde Brook Farm in Holden, MA, for animal feed.
Food Waste Management at WPI
The Food Recovery Network donates surplus food from dining halls around campus to local homeless shelters in the Worcester area. The Friendly House in Worcester supplies meals for 25-40 families per day.
WPI’s Green Team
WPI’s Green Team has a number of initiatives focusing on reducing your environmental impact from the food industry. Examples include using reusable containers, and reducing food waste, and expanding our composting programs.
Dining at WPI
Chartwells Catering manages WPI’s Dining Services, and Dine on Campus is available to browse daily menu items for each dining location.
WPI Projects on Food Sustainability
Dining Hall Composting
WPI partners with Black Earth Composting to reduce food waste from its dining halls. All food waste generated in Morgan dining hall is composted, as well as all kitchen waste generated in Founders Hall.
42%
of students waste food
.16lbs
of food wasted per person
Water
WPI addresses water sustainability on-campus, in our community, and abroad through a number of initiatives, from the Massachusetts Water Resources Outreach Center to the work of our Sustainability Ambassadors.
WPI used 36 million gallons of water in 2022, which is approximately 5350 gallons per FTE. There has been a 19% decrease in FTE usage since 2019. WPI plans to continue to continue to work on reducing water consumption as outlined in its sustainability plan.
Water Resources Outreach Center
The Massachusetts Water Resource Outreach Center (WROC) is a WPI project center developed to assist local municipalities with their water resource challenges and collaborate with WPI students in completing their Interactive Qualifying Projects (IQPs).