# Directorate of Estates and Facilities
**Source**: https://www.estates.manchester.ac.uk/services/operationalservices/envsvcs/waste/foodwaste/
**Parent**: https://www.estates.manchester.ac.uk/services/operationalservices/envsvcs/waste/
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# Directorate of Estates and Facilities
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## Food Waste
Around 15 million tonnes of food a year is wasted in the UK, 9 million tonnes of which is thrown away by various hospitality and food services.
Members of the University can reduce their waste by considering what they order for University catered events - for more information visit the [Sustainable Food pages](http://www.sustainability.manchester.ac.uk/food/).
Hospitality and Events (within Estates and Facilities) also have a Sustainability Policy as well as a Food Waste Policy (see useful documents box).
During 2024/25 the university collected a total of 196.4 tonnes food waste from across the campus (including Halls of Residence).
Our food waste is collected by Veolia (ES) UK Ltd and taken to their Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Trafford Park to be bulked up, before being transferred to [Anaerobic Digestion](https://www.biogen.co.uk/Anaerobic-Digestion/What-is-Anaerobic-Digestion/) (AD) facilities in Warwickshire operated by [Biogen](https://www.biogen.co.uk/). Their treatment process can be seen in the video to the right of this page.
Food waste collections have now been rolled out to staff kitchens across all academic buildings on the Main Campus - please see [here](https://www.estates.manchester.ac.uk/services/operationalservices/envsvcs/waste/foodwastecollections/) for more details.
Additional food waste bins were installed in a number of buildings in the autumn of 2024 for students/visitors/staff to use - see here for details - [Food waste roll out Autumn 2024](https://www.estates.manchester.ac.uk/media/services/estatesandfacilities/Food%20waste%20roll%20out%20Autumn%2024.docx)
The Student's Union introduced a Community fridge in January 2023 stocked with surplus food from University and Students’ Union outlets, giving those in need a variety of options like sandwiches, wraps and salads, depending on what’s leftover - see [here](https://studentnews.manchester.ac.uk/2023/01/26/introducing-our-community-fridge-offering-fresh-free-food-on-campus/).
#### Useful documents
- [Food Waste Policy 2023](https://www.estates.manchester.ac.uk/media/services/estatesandfacilities/Food Waste Policy 2023.docx)
- [Hospitality and Events Sustainability Policy 2022](https://www.estates.manchester.ac.uk/media/services/estatesandfacilities/Hospitality and Events Sustainability Policy 2022.docx)
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