Almost Half US Colleges Go Trayless. Why?

green | May 5th, 2009 - 8:56 AM

Â

cafeteria-tray-salad-tongs-lettuce-tomatoes-vegetables1Trayless? Really? When I started hearing that colleges were going trayless all I could think was, “how is saving plastic by not using a couple of trays going to cut down on the environmental footprint of a campus that is the size of a small town?”

Well actually, according to the New York Times, several studies have been done now pointing to rather large savings, and we’re not just talking waistlines. As almost half of the 300 schools with the largest endowments across the US go trayless, we thought we would take another look at this latest method to save some green.So how does not using a tray benefit the environment? Apparently using that tray allows students to stockpile food like they’re in a depression era – the same food that many of the studies found also ends up completely uneaten and in the garbage. If you only have your two hands to hold your dinner, then your eyes are suddenly not bigger than stomach and you mentally weigh getting up repeatedly to get more food with just eating what you have and only going back if you’re actually still hungry.

Going trayless also helps save water because as students conserve plates, silverware and cups, it also means extra water isn’t being used to wash all of those items. Some students report that the trayless dining halls make the area feel closer to home and less like an institution. Another benefit – students are less likely to gain the freshman 15 because they don’t have a way to just pile the tray high with food and sweets and breads and cakes and several drinks.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/almost-half-us-colleges-go-trayless.phpÂ

Image via: Getty Images

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Both comments and pings are currently closed.