--- title: "Foiling Food Waste, Battling Plastic Bottles: UMD Sustainability Fund’s Victories" date: 2024-10-04T05:30:00-04:00 author: University of Maryland canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/foiling-food-waste-battling-plastic-bottles-umd-sustainability-funds-victories" section: Articles --- # Foiling Food Waste, Battling Plastic Bottles: UMD Sustainability Fund’s Victories *October 4, 2024* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih) > 300 Projects Later, Grant Program Keeps Greening Campus For today’s Terps, scraping stir-fry scraps into compost bins at the Stamp Student Union, picking up free lamps and cereal bowls from the [Terp to Terp ReUse Store](https://reslife.umd.edu/terptoterp) and swimming in a moss-filtered pool at Eppley Recreation Center are part of everyday life. That’s thanks to the [Sustainability Fund](https://sustainability.umd.edu/sustainability-grants/umd-sustainability-fund-grant), which has funded nearly 300 environmentally friendly projects over the past 15 years. “It’s really rewarding to see how these new initiatives have become successful,” says Scott Lupin, director of the Office of Sustainability. “They’ve grown from grassroots to become part of the culture of campus.” Students, faculty and staff can apply each year for a grant to support sustainability-related research, internships and operational improvements. The fund has increased as the Student Government Association has voted to raise student fees; next year, a record $850,000 in grants will be disbursed. High-impact projects include: *person hold stack of serving trays* --- *water bottle with UMD stickers* --- *dresser with two drawers* --- *fish* **Sidebar note:** [Sustainability Fund](https://sustainability.umd.edu/sustainability-grants/umd-sustainability-fund-grant) applications are open! For grants of $2,000 or more, apply by Oct. 15 for best consideration. For mini-grants under $2,000, applications are accepted on a rolling basis from Sept. 1 to April 30 each school year. Contact with questions. **Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community) **Tags:** [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience) **Units:** [Office of Sustainability](https://today.umd.edu/topic/office-sustainability)