Food waste is out of taste! This is the slogan for the theme chosen by the European Commission for the European Week for Waste Reduction – EWWR 2024, focusing on food waste. EU countries produce over 59.2 million tons of food waste each year, which corresponds to 132 kg per person. The situation is even more dramatic considering that over 37 million people cannot afford a quality meal every two days; globally, one-third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted. The vast majority of food waste is generated in households (more than half of the total), in the catering services (restaurants, bars, catering), and in retail (supermarkets, shops). This amount of food waste has both economic and environmental impacts; estimates suggest that the food waste produced annually in Europe has a market value of about 132 billion euros.

To raise awareness about the excessive amounts of waste produced and the urgent need to drastically reduce it, the Sustainability Unit @Sapienza, in collaboration with several university partners, has planned various awareness initiatives for students during the week.

From November 18 to 22, starting at 4:30 PM – No food waste: all daily food surpluses will be available for purchase at 50% off the initial price at the following dining locations:

• “Bar Caffetteria P.le Aldo Moro,” located at the entrance of the University City, P.le Aldo Moro n. 5;
• “Bar Caffetteria del Pratone,” adjacent to the Sapienza Store, entrance Viale Regina Elena n. 334;
• “Bar Caffetteria Regina Elena,” located inside the Regina Elena Complex at Viale Regina Elena n. 295;
• “Ristorante Pizza Caffè Marco Polo,” located inside the Marco Polo Building at Via Circonvallazione Tiburtina n. 4. Discounted food surpluses will be available until stocks last.
• Bar Caffetteria Villa Mirafiori”, located inside Villa Mirafiori di Via Carlo Fea n.2. (starting at 3 PM).

This initiative is in collaboration with the bar service providers: RML SRL, FOOD SERVICE SRL, GMA SERVICE SRL, CIRFOOD SC, GESTIONE SERVIZI INTEGRATI SRL.

November 19, from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM – Online seminar “The Recycling Chain for Transforming Waste into Resources,” led by Prof. Silvia Serranti, a Full Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials, and Environment, and the representative for Sapienza in the Working Group on Resources and Waste of the Network of Universities for Sustainable Development (RUS). The lecture will be held online, and registration is required by sending an email by November 13, 2024, to residenza.lucaserianni@meitsrl.it. Availability is limited; priority will be given to students of the School of Advanced Studies and, in order of registration, to all other students until all connections are filled.

November 23, 2024, from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM – Plogging Day. Plogging is a Swedish practice that combines fitness and ecology: it involves picking up litter while jogging or engaging in other outdoor sports activities. To participate, registration is required by sending an email to: residenza.lucaserianni@meitsrl.it by November 13, 2024. The meeting point will be at the reception of the Luca Serianni Residence, located at Via del Castro Laurenziano, 2bis, at 8:45 AM. Sportswear is recommended; all participants will be provided with a kit consisting of gloves and bags for collecting waste. These initiatives are in collaboration with MEIT MULTISERVICES SRL, the manager of the Luca Serianni Residence.

All initiatives are promoted by the University’s Heritage and Sustainability Area and coordinated by the Sustainability Sector.

For more information, you can write to: sapienza.sostenibile@uniroma1.it

and visit the website https://ewwr.eu/project/.

If you need any further assistance, feel free to ask!