{"41241":{"#nid":"41241","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Dining Services Increases Stake in Sustainability","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Dining Services continues to work toward zero waste, undergoing an energy audit and partnering with a national composting company to assist in campus landscaping. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeginning summer semester, Brittain Dining Hall will be the first on-campus site to participate, stocking only biodegradable and reusable items. National composting company EnviRelation will collect all organic waste discarded by diners and deliver it to a local composting facility. When matured into a nutrient-rich soil additive, the compost will be returned to Georgia Tech, said Maria Linderoth, program coordinator with the Office of Solid Waste Management and Recycling. \u0022We will reuse the [compost] as a landscaping soil conditioner on campus,\u0022 she said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Dining Services Marketing Manager Dori Martin, the composting program will be implemented in other campus dining facilities. \u0022Once the program is going well at Brittain, we\u0027ll add Woodruff and then it will come to the Student Center,\u0022 she said. EnviRelation was formed as a composting service for the hospitality industry. Last February, the company began operations in Atlanta, working with the Green Foodservice Alliance.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDining Services is working to reduce waste in other ways, Martin says. Beginning fall semester, student meal plans will include reusable cups, which will also provide a discount for purchasing fountain drinks. Since no meal plan is currently available for faculty and staff members, they will be able to separately purchase the cups and participate in the discount. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo better regulate its energy usage, Dining Services has contracted The Loyalton Group and undertaken an energy audit of its facilities. \u0022It\u0027s an extensive audit to identify energy inefficiencies,\u0022 Martin said. \u0022It\u0027s our hope that we can reduce our carbon footprint by roughly 26 percent.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Dining Services manages eight locations around campus, including the Student Center, Brittain Dining Hall and Woodruff Dining Hall. A full detailing of  sustainability practices is listed on its Web site.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"GT Dining takes steps to conserve energy and reuse resources.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"GT Dining to conserve resources and energy."}],"uid":"27191","created_gmt":"2009-06-15 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:18","author":"Robert Nesmith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-06-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2009-06-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"41242":{"id":"41242","type":"image","title":"Brittain Dining Hall","body":null,"created":"1449174292","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:24:52","changed":"1475894366","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:26","alt":"Brittain Dining Hall","file":{"fid":"190036","name":"tmp93001.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tmp93001_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tmp93001_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":64346,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tmp93001_1.jpg?itok=QUWXiI1I"}}},"media_ids":["41242"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.loyaltongroup.com\/","title":"The Loyalton Group"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.envirelation.com\/","title":"EnviRelation"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gatechdining.com\/","title":"Georgia Tech Dining Services"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"}],"keywords":[{"id":"312","name":"compost"},{"id":"313","name":"energy audit"},{"id":"310","name":"Georgia Tech Dining Services"},{"id":"170799","name":"sustainable dining"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EDori Martin\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGT Dining\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:Dori.Martin@sodexo.com\u0022\u003EContact Dori Martin\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-3744\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Dori.Martin@sodexo.com"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}