Local Sustainable Initiatives
Your Sodexo Campus Dining Team is dedicated to sustainability. We know we can all work together to make a positive impact right here at Framingham State University. In addition to the many initiatives we take on as a company, we have implemented the following programs specific to FSU.
Help the Environment - Help Farmers
FSU Dining Services and Easter Seals, the leading non-profit provider of disability services, have partnered with Cartridges for Kids in the launch of “Rural Recycling,” a program that recycles empty printer, fax and copier cartridges, cellular phones, laptops, GPS systems, cameras, video games and PDAs.
For every cartridge or cell phone that we donate, Cartridges for Kids will in turn make a financial contribution to Easter Seals for its “Rural Recycling” program, which provides farmers and ranchers who have suffered a debilitating illness, accident or condition with assistive technology solutions and tools that enable them to return to work on their farms.
How can you contribute to this effort? It couldn’t be easier! Simply bring in your old cell phones, printer cartridges, digital cameras, laptops and iPods from your office or home and:
- Drop them in the designated boxes located in the McCarthy Center Marketplace
- Send them via interoffice mail to Dining Services, ATTN: Stoyan Mihnev
Click here to see one example of how this program has made a difference. http://youtu.be/mULBsdf867g
APEX Dishwashing System
As part of its commitment to increase the sustainability of its operations, Dining Services uses Ecolab's Apex dishwashing system. Apex combines technology and products designed to save water and energy, minimize the impact of products on the environment, and has a built-in method of measuring results. Apex uses a unique combination of detergents, rinse additives, equipment and consultative services to address the operational challenges in foodservice operations. The Apex management approach uses a tablet PC and wireless technology to communicate with the system's controller to download, process and analyze data to establish each foodservice operation's rack-to-guest ratio.
By monitoring and improving this ratio, the system helps reduce the amount of water and energy used at each facility, and improves total operational efficiency. All locations will receive the benefits of using less water, energy and labor, thus minimizing their operations' overall impact on the environment. In addition, the Apex system further supports Dining Services' sustainability initiatives with non-caustic chemistry and 95% less packaging material than current methods. Apex products come in a compact solid form that significantly reduces transportation shipments compared to bulkier liquid detergents.
Xpress Nap Holders
XPressnap dispensers are another solution to reducing energy and waste. They save 30% in paper over traditional napkin dispensing mechanisms. The great thing about these dispensers is that they help the environment while helping to keep costs down. The napkins are made of 100% recycled paper and the dispenser will encourage customers to take (and waste) less napkins. Energy is saved because less power is used to recycle paper products than to create them from virgin material. According to Xpressnap, enough is saved through utilizing recycle napkins to power 600 American homes for an entire year! More than half a million gallons of oil was saved 38 tanker trucks worth and 41 tons of pollutants were kept out of the environment. 4,131 cubic yards of paper were diverted from landfill space. This is enough to cover an entire football field with a two and a half foot deep stack of paper.