The voluntary agreement, designed to support the hospitality sector in reducing waste and recycling more, was signed by TUCO managing director Julie Barker in front of audience of 110 members from across 59 institutions at its sustainability-themed annual conference.
TUCO is now committed to encourage its members to contribute to the attainment of WRAP’s dual targets of reducing food and associated packaging waste by 5% and increasing the overall rate of food and packaging waste being recycled, sent to anaerobic digestion or composted to at least 70% by the end of 2015.
Barker said: “It goes without saying that reducing food and packaging waste is a challenge for university caterers today. In an age where people expect a product or service to be responsibly sourced, produced, delivered or disposed of, students are no exception – they expect us to deliver in each of these areas.
“As a collective, TUCO members are making good progress in this arena. Take for example Harper Adams University, an agricultural establishment which sources a lot of produce on site and has its own anaerobic digester to generate renewable energy via food waste, making the institution four times carbon neutral.
“In signing WRAP’s agreement, we hope to harness the commitment and passion already demonstrated by member institutions, encouraging them to go one step further, reducing waste even further, recycling more, and together reaping the significant environmental and financial rewards.”