QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF DISPOSABLE CUPS AND LEFTOVER FOOD GENERATED BY THE USERS OF A UNIVERSITY CANTEEN IN THE STATE OF RIO DE JANEIRO

Abstract

The study aimed to quantify the solid waste generated by users in a University Canteen in the State of Rio de Janeiro. The weight of leftover food in the plates and the consumption (in units) of disposable cups were determined from January to June, 2016. Halfway through this study, an awareness campaign was addressed to the users, with educational material on sustainability, aiming to reduce the generation of solid waste. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to identify the reasons for the generation of leftover food. It was found that 52,896 units of disposable cups were used in January, and 20.8 tons of remains of food in plates were generated in six months. After the awareness stage, it was observed a 34.9% reduction of plate wastes, and the supply of disposable cups was interrupted. Most interviewees reported that "sometimes" (51.1%) they left food on the plate and 55.3% highlighted that the main reason for this was because they didn't like some dish of the menu. Some factors may contribute to the rejection of the prepared meals, such as the supply of poor-quality meals, leading to a low acceptance by users. The awareness and environmental education can change positively the food consumption, avoiding food waste. It was concluded that the data obtained can be used for the decision-making of the managers for adjustments of the menu planning, the way of preparation of the food and the adequate management of solid waste. DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2018.31306

Keywords

• resíduos sólidos. alimentação coletiva. desperdício de alimentos. gestão de resíduos. serviços de alimentação.