CHARACTERIZATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS AND IMPACTS OF FIVE UNIVERSITY RESTAURANTS AT A PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION IN BRAZIL

Abstract

University Restaurants (URs) of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
(UFRGS) are distributed across four campi at Porto Alegre, the capital of the
state of Rio Grande do Sul. More than 1.5 million meals were served in 2012.
This paper describes a characterization study of the environmental aspects
and impacts of the activities involved in producing meals at the five URs.
Two checklists were developed to conduct the survey of the environmental
aspects and impacts, and they were applied at the URs. A typology of
the waste produced at the URs was compiled, identifying organic waste
originating from the employed foodstuffs and recyclable waste from the
packaging of a wide range of items. It was observed that the URs’ waste
separation practices were inadequate. As to the use of natural resources, we
identified: the water supply outlets, and the equipment that use electricity
and liquefied petroleum gas. The identification and understanding of the
environmental aspects and impacts of providing meals is the first step in
the direction of improving sustainability.