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) 810-2475SHolsinger@EM-Assist.com