At many colleges and universities, sustainability goals are set at the institutional level, but execution often depends on one critical group: facilities management. At the College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C., that connection is on full display, where the facilities department is playing a central role in advancing a comprehensive food recovery program that is delivering measurable environmental results.
The College of Charleston’s approach comes at a time when food loss remains a significant national challenge. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more than one-third of food in the U.S. goes uneaten. For facilities leaders, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity: the ability to reduce landfill reliance, lower emissions, and contribute to broader institutional sustainability targets.
The college diverted more than 410,000 pounds of organic material in the past year alone, preventing the equivalent of 60.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The program captures a wide range of materials from kitchen preparation scraps to post-consumer leftovers from on-campus dining and events. The program ensures they are repurposed into beneficial end uses such as compost and used in the community.
What sets the College of Charleston apart is not just participation, but leadership. The institution’s sustainability department, which reports directly into facilities, has helped embed resource recovery into daily campus operations. This alignment, which also includes campus and dining services, has enabled the college to move beyond small-scale initiatives and implement a coordinated, campus-wide system.
For facilities teams, this kind of integration is key. Food recovery programs require operational oversight, coordinating collection, managing vendor relationships, ensuring proper separation, and maintaining compliance. By housing sustainability within facilities, the College of Charleston has created a structure where environmental goals and operational execution reinforce one another.
The impact extends beyond diversion metrics. Organic material collected on campus is transported to a local partner where it is transformed into nutrient-rich compost. That compost is then used by landscapers, residents, and even on campus grounds, creating a closed-loop system that connects campus operations to the surrounding community.
“It’s great that we can be innovative in our own way and show students what a sustainable community looks like,” said Nicole Killen, director of sustainability for the college’s Center for Sustainable Development. “We have a goal to be zero waste by 2035.”
Facilities teams are also helping expand participation beyond dining halls. With support from campus leadership, the college has introduced accessible options for students to engage directly, including an on-campus residential food scrap drop site funded through the Cougar Changemaker Grant. This is particularly important in a campus environment where traditional composting may not be feasible for students living in residence halls or apartments.
“It’s about accessibility,” said Katie Doherty, the college’s zero waste manager. “It gives students an easy way to be sustainable.”
Importantly, the benefits of food recovery extend well beyond waste reduction. Compost produced from recovered organic material plays a critical role in improving soil health, enhancing water retention, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers, and supporting long-term agricultural productivity. In regions where soil quality and environmental resilience are growing concerns, these outcomes are increasingly valuable.
For colleges and universities, this demonstrates that with the right infrastructure and partnerships, food recovery can move from a niche initiative to a core operational strategy.
For facilities departments, the takeaway is clear: achieving sustainability goals requires more than policy commitments—it requires operational leadership. By integrating resource recovery into day-to-day systems and empowering facilities teams to lead, institutions can turn everyday materials into measurable environmental impact.
At the College of Charleston, that work is already underway demonstrating how facilities-driven programs can help campuses move closer to zero waste while creating lasting value for both the institution and the broader community.
This article was co-written by staff members at the College of Charleston, a public university in Charleston, S.C.