Diagnóstico da situação e caracterização dos resíduos sólidos gerados no restaurante universitário da Universidade Estadual de Maringá

• Autor(a) principal: Zotesso, Jaqueline Pirão
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da Universidade Estadual de Maringá (RI-UEM)
• Texto Completo: http://repositorio.uem.br:8080/jspui/handle/1/3731
• topic: Resíduos sólidos; Desperdício de alimentos; Compostagem; Unidades de alimentação; Unidades de nutrição; Paraná; Brasil.; Solid waste; Food waste; Composting; Power units; Units nutrition; Paraná; Brazil.; Engenharias; Engenharia Química

The environmental problems related to the increasing urban solid waste generation are aggravated by improper management of wastes generated in the large-scale meal production, held in Food and Nutrition Units (FNU). At these units, waste management is an environmental and hygienic-sanitary issue, since the safe food production is also related to the proper handling of their waste. Most of the waste generated by FNU is of organic origin, mainly related to food waste that occurs in these units. Given the need to reduce waste generation prior to propose any treatment method, the present study aimed to make the situation diagnosis and characterization of the solid waste generated at the University Restaurant (UR) of the State University of Maringá (UEM). A transversal and exploratory study was conducted, in which the wastes generated in every stage of the meal production process were quantified and characterized, as well as the factors that enhance this generation. Some inadequacies related to physical structure and practices were noted, showing the need of adjustments to turn the restaurant activity into a safe and sustainable form. During the 21 days of analysis, the amount of 6553.5 kg of solid waste was generated, 87% of organic origin. The stage of cleaning trays and cutlery was the largest waste generator, representing 50.3% of the total amount generated, which emphasizes the high amount of leftovers (food left by consumers in their trays). The second largest waste generator was the stage of pre-preparation of vegetables and fruits, representing 24.7% of the total waste generated. To minimize waste generation an awareness campaign focusing on reducing food waste was realized involving employees and users of UR. In order to propose a treatment method for the waste generated by the stage of pre-preparation of vegetables and fruits a composting trial was performed mixing these wastes with pruning and weeding residue from Ecological Park - UEM in the proportion of 50%. The treatment was feasible and produced a compost of safe application in agriculture. Thus, it is expected that this study will contribute to improve the solid waste management at UR (UEM), in order to minimize the negative environment impacts of this activity and turn UR, as a strategic place for the dissemination of environmental issues, into an educational example for academic students, employees and other University sectors