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Duke’s Freshmen Orientation Picnic marks the passing of old traditions to a new generation of incoming students.  When 1,600 new freshmen gathered on August 19th to enjoy a picnic of local and organic foods arranged by Bon Appetit, Duke’s commitment to environmental sustainability was clear.

Duke Recycles, in collaboration with Sustainable Duke and a small but dedicated team of volunteers worked to make the entire picnic a zero-waste event.  Two waste stations collected compostable food, plates and cutlery in an effort to keep waste out of the landfill.  Parents asking, "Where's the trash?" were promptly corrected by event staff and volunteers, who proudly provided composting crash courses to the thousands of students and family members. When the dust settled 4,890 lbs. of food scraps, corn-based cups, paper plates and napkins had been diverted from landfills, and sent off to be composted. 

The 95% waste-diversion rate rivals last year's zero-waste Freshman Orientation Picnic numbers.  In two short years, styrofoam plates, plastic napkins and cups will be unfamiliar artifacts to all of Duke's students.  Unlike disposable items made from fossil fuels that take centuries to break down, compostable items are collected on campus and sent to Brooks Contractor, a local company that manages Duke's compost collections.  Within a year, scraps including corn-based cups and paper plates will decompose to form a nutrient rich soil amendment. 

Working with Bon Appetit to procure more than 85% of the evening's food from local farms, and Brooks to compost 95% of the waste locally moves Duke closer to its aspirations of becoming carbon neutral in the coming decades. 

Freshmen learn quickly that the University’s commitment to minimizing our campus footprint extends well beyond orientation week activities.  In addition to composting over 100 tons of food waste last year, Duke University’s dining facilities strive to provide local, organic and vegan options for students every day.  Taking advantage of these opportunities helps students to reduce their carbon footprint, while enjoying affordable, fresh and healthy food.

Last year, campus dining facilities spent over a third of their budget on local foods, building relationships with several dozen local farmers.  Buying locally keeps more money in the region’s economy and drastically reduces the amount of fuel spent getting food from the farm to your fork.  As a signatory to the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), reducing the CO2 emissions from transporting food is a top priority.

Staff and students are welcome to assist in the zero-waste event or get involved in the future, by volunteering and demonstrating our institutional commitment to environmental sustainability.