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Waste Reduction

Here at UVA Dine, Waste Reduction is an important part of what we do. Through the ReusePass program, composting, and food donations, we ensure that we are working toward UVA's 2030 plan of being carbon-neutral by 2030.

Waste Reduction Initiatives

  • ReusePass

    Our ReusePass Program provides students with reusable to-go containers at all three dining halls and Gaston Food Hub! Choosing a reusable container is a convenient way for students to minimize waste on Grounds and support UVA’s 2030 Sustainability Action Plan.

    In the 2025-26 academic year, students, faculty, and staff who used a reuse container made a real difference in sustainability, with an overwhelming 97% return rate for all guests! Their total waste reduction impact included:

    • Saving 2,602 lbs of food waste
    • Saving 26,767 disposable containers from being used
    • Saving 17,263 gallons of water
    • Saving 17,942 lbs of greenhouse gas emissions

  • Composting

    We are committed to reducing food waste through composting, where every dining and retail location has a compost operation! Composting is a process of ‘organic recycling’, or taking organic materials like food waste or various certified compostable products and cycling it through a rigorous system to be turned into fertile soil.

    To support this process, we partner with Blackbear Composting, a regional composting company that services every UVA Dine location and turns our food waste into soil for our local farmers and growers! This past academic year, we composted 224 tons (or 448,486 lbs) of food waste that would have otherwise been thrown away without a compost program.

  • Food Donations

    Supporting students and addressing food insecurity across Grounds and the Charlottesville community is an important part of what we do. Within the UVA community, we donated 6,059 lbs of food in the 2025-26 academic year. We also jumpstarted a new program with the Cavalier Food Pantry, putting together hundreds of meal kits and donating them to the food pantry! We look forward to creating more opportunities to support students in need.

    Our most successful food donation program has been the Swipe Drive event. This event allows students to contribute their unused meal plan swipes to address food insecurity, where each swipe donated equals 1 lb of food that UVA Dine will match and donate to the Cavalier Food Pantry. In the 2025-26 academic year, students donated nearly 5,000 swipes to support food insecurity!