The University of Texas's Office of sustainability received an award Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency for its efforts to reduce food waste.

EPA's mission is to protect human health and the environment and ensure all Americans are protected from significant health and environmental risks. UT Arlington was one of the first to join the Food Recovery Challenge, a food waste reduction initiative that is part of the EPA's WasteWise program. Participants of the program pledge to make a 5 percent reduction in food waste over five years through prevention, donation or composting.

"The main focus of UT Arlington's food recovery program is composting," said Meghna Tare, director of UT Arlington's Office of Sustainability.

UT Arlington began composting in 2005 and, according to a news release, composted 68,000 pounds, or 34 tons each year.

"The idea is to bring about a behavior change. To have students take it back to their homes and work place and educate others so that the initiative grows from being local," said Tare. "What we do hopefully makes a dent locally but we hope it can also impact the larger Texas region and even nationally, the idea is to bring about a behavior change."

The Office of Sustainability at UT Arlington is committed to environmental stewardship, prioritizing the address of energy and water conservation, construction, transportation, recycling and more.

The sustainability committee group includes more than 45 members and nearly a dozen work groups composed of faculty, staff, students, alumni and city and regional governmental personnel.

Another component of UT Arlington's Food Recovery challenge efforts include a community garden. In 2011, The City of Arlington and UT Arlington partnered to create a community garden providing fresh fruits and vegetables to gardeners and Mission Arlington. According to a news release, more than 1,000 pounds were donated since then.

UT Arlington also coordinates trayless dining with its food service provider, Aramark, eliminating 11,500 pounds of food waste per semester.