University of Wisconsin–Madison
Twice a week, the UW–Madison community comes together to share a warm meal. At the front of the room sits a buffet with dishes from cornbread to curry, while chatter-filled tables span the remaining space. Even better, it’s completely free! The Food Recovery Network (FRN) is a UW–Madison student organization that is responsible for …
Dr. Erica Majumder broadly classifies her research as “waste management microbiology.” Her group aims to use microorganisms to develop new strategies capable of removing pollutants from the environment and repurposing industrial and agricultural waste. With 292.4 million tons of solid waste being produced each year, in the US alone, finding new ways to upcycling these resources is crucial for environmental sustainability.
Dr. Gulustan Ozturk's research at UW-Madison focuses on bioactive compounds found in milk and dairy streams. Her main goal is to isolate these compounds using advanced processing methods to develop microbiome-centered interventions for improving human health, with potential applications in personalized nutrition and precision treatments. This work supports sustainability by adding value to dairy coproducts and streams, such as utilizing whey protein phospholipid concentrate which is a byproduct of whey processing, contributing to economic, environmental, and social sustainability as part of the Dairy Innovation Hub's mission.
Imagine a meal from your favorite restaurant. Now imagine one-third of it sitting in a truck, heading to a waste facility. This is the reality for most eating establishments. A large quantity of a restaurant’s most ordered food is prepared at the beginning of the day, and the portions that are not sold are wasted. …
UW–Madison is a PLAN Member until December 31st, 2024. All UW–Madison students, staff, and faculty are eligible to take advantage of the campus membership offerings. Below, you can learn more about benefits and registration details. The Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) “aids college students, as well as campus faculty and staff, in tackling unsustainable infrastructure on …
When Malorie Garbe became the Sustainability Coordinator for University Housing in July 2020, she faced a unique experience with Sustainability Move Out. Her predecessor, Breana Nehls, had developed the program to donate or recycle as many belongings as possible when first-year students departed the residence halls at the end of the spring semester. But in …
On August 4th, 2021, the Office of Sustainability informed campus users of changes to the UW–Madison food waste collection program. As part of the announcement, a survey was circulated to assess the thoughts, opinions, and ideas of the UW–Madison community. The following graphic and article describes survey responses, background details, and next steps. Final …
In recent years, UW–Madison maintained a successful campus food waste collection program. However, due to unforeseen circumstances the university must overhaul the program. Learn more below and please take our survey to help UW determine next steps. TAKE THE SURVEY Why? On July 30th, 2021, UW–Madison was forced to suspend collection of food waste (commonly …
This spring, five UW–Madison students joined the Zero Waste Atlas Fellowship. The Zero Waste Atlas is a new scoring system and benchmarking tool to assess a university’s capacity to achieve its zero waste goals. Fellows are supported by UW’s Campus Resource Coordinator and receive extensive training from Atlas program staff members. The fellowship is completed …
During Black History Month, Social Sustainability Coalition members created a social media campaign to highlight prominent Black leaders in the field of environmentalism and sustainability. These leaders and their contributions were featured on the Office of Sustainability’s Instagram account each business day. This campaign was designed to recenter the historical and present-day contributions of Black …