Sustainable Dining Facilities Innovative and Cost Effective Approaches to Greening our Military Dining Facilities
Sustainable Dining Facilities
Innovative and Cost Effective Approaches to Greening our Military Dining Facilities
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Introduction
> DoD operates complex dining operations which result in numerous environmental impacts.
> Installations are looking for ways to minimize the negative environmental impact associated with dining facility operations.
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Assessment Goals
> As part of the MCLB Barstow “Green Base” Pilot Program, a dining facility process assessment was conducted at MCLB Barstow and MCAGCC Twentynine Palms.
> The intent of the assessment is to improve dining facility operational processes to meet energy and water conservation goals, per EO 13514
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Assessment Goals
> Specifically, the goal of the process assessment is to provide recommendations on how to:– reduce waste and pollution
– reduce expenses or generate revenue
– reduce energy consumption
– improve environmental sustainability
– develop training that will ensure employees are informed while making the program sustainable in the long term
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Assessment – Dining Facilities Reviewed
> Marine Corps Food Services Facilities– Two Main Base mess halls at MCAGCC Twentynine Palms
› Mess Hall 1460 serves about 100,000 meals per month
› Mess Hall 1460 also does serves about 300 meals per day as part of the “sub to go” program
› Mess Hall 1660 serves about 500,000 meals per month
– One field mess hall at MCAGCC Twentynine Palms
› Serves up to 6,000 meals per day during peak activity
› Units typically onsite for 6-8 weeks with 1-2 weeks downtime between training activities
› Also provides meals in portable units for field dining
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Assessment – Dining Facilities Reviewed
> Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) Facilities– Three facilities at MCLB Barstow
– Approximately six facilities at MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, including, Officer’s club and golf course
> Commercial Facilities – Approximately eleven facilities at MCAGCC Twentynine
Palms
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Assessment – Dining Facility Site Visits
> Performed site visits at all facilities
> Examined purchasing of cleaning supplies, disposable items, etc.
> Examined current water and electricity usage and efficiency activities in place
> Examined current recycling and disposal activities for sewage, food waste, trash
> Will perform waste stream sampling during future site visits
Assessment – Current Practices
> Barstow – Family Restaurant and Lancer Lounge– All pre and post consumer food waste is disposed of as
general solid waste
– Supplies and food are ordered through U.S. Foods
– Disposable containers and utensils are used in the dining facilities
– Cardboard is recycled, all other recyclable items are treated as general solid waste
– Grease is collected and picked up for re-use
– Currently no tracking of energy and water usage; lighting system not operated during “downtime”
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Assessment – Current Practices
> Barstow – Child Development Center– All pre and post consumer food waste is disposed of as
general solid waste
– Practices are in place to minimize food waste, leftover food typically gets reused
– Cardboard, paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum are recycled
– Reusable dished and utensils typically used
– Dishes are dry scraped and machine washed
– Paper cups are used and are disposed of as general solid waste
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Assessment – Current Practices
> Barstow – Child Development Center– Supplies and food are typically purchased through local
vendors, best price is usually the deciding factor
– Currently no tracking of energy and water usage; lighting system not operated during “downtime”
– Low flow and Energy Star appliances currently not in use
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Assessment – Current Practices
> Significant progress already made towards “greening” the Marine Corps Food Services facilities at MCAGCC Twentynine Palms
> Food waste– All pre and post consumer food waste is turned into a sterile
biomass, reducing their solid waste generation by about 75%
– Biomass is removed at no cost by a contractor for use as feed additives, and alternate energy uses are still being evaluated
– Post consumer waste at Main Base mess halls is separated into recycling or trash; and food waste is dry scraped, eliminating any food waste discharge to sewer in over a year
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Assessment – Current Practices
> Purchasing– All cleaning products and disposable items are purchased
within the Green Procurement Process and are environmentally friendly
– No disposable containers are used in the Main Base Mess Halls, except “Sub-to-go” program uses biodegradable containers
– All field mess hall containers and utensils are biodegradable and are turned into sterile biomass with the food waste
– Dining facilities will be moving to the Consolidated Food Management System to coordinate deliveries to minimize the number of deliveries per week
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Assessment – Current Practices
> Energy Usage– A new metering and database system was recently installed
at all dining facilities, including MCCS and Commercial, to allow for detailed tracking of energy and water usage
– All light bulbs at both mess halls are low energy bulbs
– Most equipment runs on steam and equipment run on electricity meets efficiency requirements
– Mess halls uses swamp coolers and movable exterior building shades to keep the buildings cool
– Lighting and cooling system not operated during “downtime”
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Assessment – Current Practices
> Water Usage– All water fixtures at both Main Base mess halls are low flow
and fixtures at the field mess hall are scheduled for replacement
– Plates at Main Base mess halls are dry scraped and soaked and not rinsed
– Plates at field mess hall are shredded with food waste
– Use maintenance free flooring, uses 1 ½ gallons of water twice a week to clean each Main Base mess hall
– A third Main Base mess hall is under construction that will collect rain water for irrigation of landscaping
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Assessment – Current Practices
> Waste and Recycling– Fryer oil is picked up two times per month by NREA for reuse
– Offices recycle all paper waste and pre consumer and post consumer waste is separated for recycling
– Broken cups and plates are sent back to the manufacturer and replaced under warranty
– No garbage cans are available to patrons in the mess halls; trays are placed on a conveyor and the waste is hand sorted
– Implement portion management based on previous food usage and input from units on expected number of troops
– Menu changed to utilize food in stock; will decrease one food choice if they have extra of another food choice
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Assessment – Current Practices
> MCCS Dining Facilities– MCCS Dining facilities are supposed to recycle pre consumer
materials using the base NREA recycling program, but this does not occur consistently at all facilities
– No post consumer recycling at facilities
– Food Issue Point procures most food and supplies
– The facilities use a mix of reusable and disposable containers, plates, and utensils
– General food waste, recyclables and trash are typically disposed of together
– All new equipment is Energy Star rated and low flow
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Assessment – Current Practices
> MCCS Dining Facilities– Dining facilities are supposed to follow the base energy
policy in order to ensure energy conservation
– Energy and water conservation practices are typically followed
– Grease is collected and picked up for re-use
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Assessment – Current Practices
> Commercial Dining Facilities– Green dining practices vary widely at the commercial
facilities, in general:
› Cardboard is recycled
› No post consumer recycling at facilities
› Disposable containers, plates, and utensils
› General food waste, recyclables and trash are typically disposed of together
› A mix of Energy Star rated and low flow equipment
› Energy and water conservation practices are typically followed
› Grease is collected and picked up for re-use
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Current Challenges and Areas for Improvement
> Marine Corps Food Services Facilities continue to make significant progress in greening their operations
> Main Base Mess Halls– Additional uses for biomass from food waste
– Go paperless
– Solar power
– Alternate food warming technology
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Current Challenges and Areas for Improvement
> Field Mess Hall– Low flow nozzles in washing area
– Solar power – at facility or for portable field units
– Bigger grinding machine for food waste
– Cardboard shredder or compactor to reduce waste onsite
– Insulation in cooking area
– Illegal “dumping” of waste
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Current Challenges and Areas for Improvement
> MCCS and Commercial Dining Facilities – Institute a comprehensive recycling plan that integrates with
the base NREA recycling program, and includes post consumer recycling at facilities
– Determine alternate uses for food waste
– Follow Green Procurement guidelines for food and supply purchases
– Continue replacing old equipment with Energy Star rated and low flow equipment
– Continue to improve energy and waster conservation practices in accordance with the base energy policy
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Next Steps
> Additional site visits to collect current utility and solid waste information and waste stream samples
> Prepare Waste Assessment Report – Description of the contents of the resources that go into the
dining operations
– Description of the different waste streams, the source, and the byproducts or pollutants in those waste streams
– Summary of current activities and waste prevention and recycling efforts already in place
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Next Steps
> Prepare Green Opportunity Identification Report – Identify up to 20 opportunities for reducing environmental
impacts, ranked by their estimated program benefit
– For each opportunity, the report will include data such as:
› Required investment
› Impact on operations and employees
› Benefit to the environment
› Other considerations as applicable
– Recommend next steps for planning, funding and implementing these greening efforts for all MCIWest dining facilities
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Next Steps
> Prepare Green Dining Training– Prepare an easy to follow, poster or hand-out listing specific
steps employees can perform to reduce waste
– Develop a Green Dining Facility computer based training course or video to inform all facility employees (contractor and government operated) of expectations and requirements
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Summary
> This study looked for ways to minimize environmental impacts associated with dining facility operations
> We have found that at some facilities, practices are currently in place that lessen environmental impacts– However, systemic processes not in place
> Significant improvement can be made through:– Process improvement
– New technologies
– Public education
– Training
Contact Information:Shawn HolsingerEM-Assist, Inc.(757) [email protected]