Several universities across the country have found a unique way to manage waste and reduce the use of energy on their campuses — by getting rid of cafeteria trays.
Schools including Middlebury College, Alfred University, Frostburg State University and San Francisco State University have already removed trays from their cafeterias. While other schools are also considering adopting this practice, University of Wisconsin Food Service Manager Brian Burke said the university has no plans to move in this direction in the near future.
Most of the universities that have removed trays from their dining halls offer all-you-can-eat meal plans to their students, and by getting rid of trays, they aim to reduce the amount of food wasted by students whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs.
“When someone has a tray, you often see a whole sandwich, a whole salad, a whole pizza go back to the dishwasher untouched,” said John Dietrich, director of Alfred University dining services.
Alfred removed their trays from two dining halls in January 2008, and the program began as a “one-time thing” to promote reducing waste, Dietrich said.
According to Dietrich, the idea to do away with trays came from an article in a trade magazine.
“We kept hearing about how much waste was reduced by removing trays,” he said.
The Dining Advisory Board at AU, which is made up of students, tested how students would react to the elimination of trays, and they have found the idea to be a success.
Dietrich said he estimates the university has reduced solid food waste by about 30 percent and liquid waste by about 50 percent.
According to Dietrich, another energy-conscious aspect of removing trays from dining halls is that it could reduce the amount of water used by the dishwashers.
Although UW currently has no plans to take away trays, Burke said the university has several systems in place to conserve energy.
“We do what we can to save on the ware washing,” Burke said.
Silverware in UW dining halls is located after the food area to allow students to grab the silverware they need rather than what they think they might before getting food. Burke said UW’s Food Service also lets residents remove china from the dining halls, which cuts down the amount of disposables used.
“We know our residents appreciate the fact that they are eating on real china,” Burke said. “What we can do to control cost is cost that we don’t have to pass on to our residents.”
But eliminating trays does not automatically cut down on the amount of water used by the dishwashers, Burke added.
“You need to retrain your staff,” Dietrich said. “Less dishes are going through [the dishwasher], but the water is still running. … You need to train your staff to shut the water off.”
According to Michael Kinderman, director of residence hall facilities, UW has plans in the works to tear down Gordon Commons and rebuild a new facility starting in 2011, to renovate Carson’s Carryout in 2012 and to renovate Elizabeth Water’s dining hall in 2013.
According to Kinderman, all renovated facilities are to have more energy-efficient systems.
