< Back | Home

From left, Caitlin Verespie, Kat Lee and Josh Mamary, all 5th-semester students, balance their plates and cups at Putnam Dining Hall. Dining Services eliminated the use of trays in an effort to curb waste and save water.

Dining Halls go trayless to curb food, water waste

By: Katherine Martinez

Posted: 8/27/08

As students return to the University this fall and routinely file into the dining hall, many will ask one question: where are all the trays? Some will search to see if they have been relocated, while others will realize that the trays have been permanently removed.

Many students became angry when they learned of the inconvenience.

"How am I supposed to juggle a plate, a cup and silverware?" said Andrew Harris, a 7th-semester finance major, who in his senior year, has become accustomed to the convenience of trays.

Students are concerned with the idea of spilling food, dropping plates and trying to balance their meals while in line during the "dining hall rush." Most meals do not fit on one plate, and include side items like salad bowls or multiple drinks.

This is exactly what was considered when the change was made.

"People tend to eat with their eyes. I know I do," said Dennis Pierce, director of Dining Services. "The idea behind eliminating trays is to reduce the amount of food wasted. If students load their trays with multiple plates, salad bowls and dessert, it is likely that more food will be thrown away."

Although the National Association of College and University Food Services estimates that food prices have risen by 30 percent on essentials like bread and cheese, Pierce insists that the change has not been motivated by increased costs.

"This is about going green and trying to save the environment," Pierce said.

In a week-long study conducted last year in Whitney and Northwest dining halls, 950 pounds of food were wasted. With a school like UConn that serves over 4 million meals each year, the removal of trays from dining halls can dramatically reduce the amount of food wasted.

Although Pierce cannot speculate on the estimated savings of food this year, other colleges and universities that have made the change all have positive reports. According to Gail Campana, spokeswoman for the National Association of College and University Food Services, colleges that have gone trayless have reduced food waste by 30 to 50 percent.

The issue of conserving water was also a critical part in the decision to remove trays. Aramark, a company specializing in large-scale food services, conducted a recent study of universities that have removed trays from circulation, which indicated 200 gallons of water is being saved for every 1,000 meals served.

Water conservation has been a problem at UConn in the past. In the past three years, there have been two droughts, one of which forced the dining halls to switch to paper plates in order to save water.

"People don't realize that washing trays takes a long time and a lot of water," said Jason Zwang, a 7th-semester psychology major and the assistant student manager of Northwest Dining Hall.

Colleen Tracey, a 7th-semester communication disorders and psychology double major lived in South residence hall on campus over the summer working as a summer conference housing assistant. She had a summer meal plan and was shocked when the dining hall went trayless around mid-summer.

"It was a huge hassle at first, but by the end of the summer I got used to it and realized that there really are environmental benefits to the change," Tracey said.

Pierce believes that going trayless is a change of culture. The freshman class was not given trays during summer orientation and there were no complaints of inconvenience, nor were there any broken plates. Once the older students get used to the change and understand why it was made, there should be no problems.

The Dining Services Web site explains the decision made and has a page dedicated to frequently asked questions. Once more statistics are available, they will be released to show the progress of the change.

"The removal of trays is a permanent decision, and the university fully endorses this," Pierce said.

Katherine.Martinez@UConn.edu