UF's official food service provider, Gator Dining Services, has kicked up its efforts to go green with three new sustainability initiatives.
Gator Dining is now reusing cups, donating unused food and coffee grounds, and educating its employees about conservation.
Susanne Lewis, sustainability coordinator for Gator Dining, said UF partnered with Pepsi to design a reusable cup for all campus dining locations serving fountain beverages.
The cups are sold for $1.99 at nine spots on campus, including the Reitz Union and the Hub, Lewis said.
Customers who bring the cup back get a 50-cent discount on their drink, which is normally $1.59, she said.
This semester, about 630 cups have been sold, but the number of times they have been reused would not be determined until February, Gator Dining marketing program manager Jill Rodriguez wrote in an e-mail.
Lewis said as part of a university community, Gator Dining has a responsibility to educate its customers on conservation and waste reduction efforts.
"We're trying to educate students to realize that the little choices they make in their everyday lives really can make a big impact," Lewis said.
Signs have been posted at all-you-can-eat dining locations on campus asking students not to be wasteful, she said.
In addition, educating Gator Dining employees on sustainability is key to the success of the initiatives, she said.
Gator Dining is also recycling coffee grounds. Lewis said UF will donate the grounds to local farmers to use as fertilizer.
Eighteen campus locations brew coffee, and each produces up to 10 gallons of grounds a day, she said.
Some Starbucks locations on campus are already donating grounds, and other spots will begin soon, she said.
Gator Dining is also donating leftover food from catered events on campus to local homeless shelters and food banks.
UF donated about 1,500 pounds of unused food this month, Lewis said.
Gator Dining began its sustainability efforts a few years ago, and one of its first projects was buying about 30 percent of its produce from local farmers, she said.
Investing locally provides better quality food, keeps money in the community's economy and reduces pollution because of less distance traveled, she said.
