FOX 7 eTeam: Food Composter

Let's face it. Who wouldn't take advantage of an all-you-can eat cafeteria? Especially if you're a college student away from home. But sometimes, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, and we don't eat everything on the tray. UT's Kinsolving Dormitory cafeteria is testing a new device that could totally change what happens to half-eaten breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

You really have to see it to believe it. A big chunk of the food that doesn't get eaten here -- it doesn't just go in the trash, it becomes a compost-like substance and it's something you can put on your garden.

According to UT, during any given year, more than 100 tons of edible food gets wasted in their two resident dining halls. That's a lot of trash. So how does it work? Workers clear-off the trays, then food waste shoots down a waterway into a machine that removes water from the scraps.

That's nothing new, but a new machine called "e-Corect," on loan from Food Recycle Science, dehydrates the pulped food.

"Kind of fast-composting, is what I would call it," said Scott Meyer of UT's Housing and Food Services department. "It's not really compost when it's finished, but it's real close and it actually could be used at that point as a soil amendment."

It gets broken down into a tobacco-like substance, and it means less trash goes to a landfill.

"By the time it's at this stage, it's been reduced by about 95 percent in weight and volume," said Meyer.

UT is working on ways to get the dehydrated food waste to local farmers, who can use it to grow more food or as livestock feed. But the machines are expensive. There's no room in the budget, but the university does plan to eventually purchase them.

Food Recycle Science said the cost of the machines can be offset greatly by reduced waste-hauling costs.

The University of Texas said its already reduced its food waste by about 30 percent, and they hope to reduce waste even further by getting rid of food trays in cafeterias.