Phoenix School Food Waste Program

2024 Crescordia Award Recipients

With United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant funding, the Phoenix Zero Waste Team launched food waste collection at five public elementary schoolsThe City partnered with the schools on food waste sorting and collection from the cafeteria and classrooms. In the cafeteria, collection bins for students were organized to separate leftover liquids, recyclables, compostables, landfill items, along with a table for uneaten, unopened foods in their original packaging. The food waste composting program helps students familiarize themselves with the food system by visualizing food circularity from seed to compost. The program also positively impacted the environment by diverting 67,319 pounds of food waste and compostable packaging from the landfill. After hearing about the success of the first five schools, additional school districts have expressed interest in launching food waste collection.