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Students returning to the College of St. Mary this week found a change in the dining hall: No trays.
The move to have students take only the food they can carry on a plate is part of a series of “greening” efforts on campus, said Carmen Steele, a spokeswoman for the college.
“There have been studies that prove that if people have to take a plate instead of a tray, they do eat less and there's a lot less waste,” she said.
The college went Styrofoam-free last fall. In addition, an environmentally conscious student group called the Green Team oversees the recycling of plastic and cans by collecting the items from bins placed all around campus. It also spearheads an electronics recycling effort every semester.
Steele said the goal is to “continually decrease the amount of waste and refuse that goes off the campus. We've already been able to cut back on the number of Dumpsters we have and the amount of pickups we have every week.”
Other area campuses are going to trayless dining, too. Creighton University started phasing out cafeteria trays in 2009, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln decided to go trayless in all five dining halls last March.
Schools say the trayless initiative has greatly reduced the amount of food wasted by students who pile food on a tray and then throw much of it away.
“This move to trayless dining will lead to a significant reduction in food and beverage waste and energy consumption,” said Maryanne Stevens, College of St. Mary president. “We hope it will also encourage students to follow our lead and participate in additional efforts to reduce their ecological footprint.”
The college made posters and took other steps to inform students of the change and the reasons behind it.
“They've been very receptive to it so far,” Steele said. “I think they're open to the idea of seeing how they can help the environment and be green.”
Senior Juana Acosta, founder of the Green Team, said students are excited about the steps the college is taking.
“Everybody wants to become greener,” she said. “This way, they know they're changing and becoming more environmentally friendly.”
Contact the writer:
444-1074, john.keenan@owh.com
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