One of the simplest and most substantial ways that our school could reduce its global impact is getting rid of cafeteria trays. Think about it - not using trays means not having to clean trays, which means we'll save on water, electricity and detergent. People won't be as inclined to get more food than they can carry, so they are less likely to get more food than they can eat, and they will generate less food waste (and smaller waistlines). Less food waste will beget less food demand and will reduce the amount gasoline used to transport the food, energy used to cook the food and waste from leftover food products.
According a recent UT Division of Housing and Food Service food waste survey, each person eating in the dining halls wastes about 5.6 ounces of food per meal on average, resulting in a total of 223,882 pounds - 112 tons - wasted per academic year between the Kinsolving and Jester Dining Halls alone. DHFS has reduced the size of their trays, but that still isn't enough. According to their estimations, if University dining halls eliminate tray usage, they can reduce food wasted by nearly 50 percent, the amount of water used by a minimum of 25,552 gallons and carbon emissions by 6.14 metric tons per year.
Scott Meyer, associate director of Food Services and cofounder of the Environmental Affairs Team, says that UT is adopting many innovative techniques beyond going trayless to make its dining halls more green. DHFS currently uses futuristic machines such as the pulper, which reduces wasted food to 12 percent of its original size. DHFS is also looking into finding positive uses for the pulped food waste, one of which includes a newly developed composter that makes pulped food into soil overnight. Meyer, however, stated that as much as he can do to make the University's dining facilities environmentally friendly, the green initiative does not ultimately lie within his jurisdiction. "It all depends on the students," he said.
UT wouldn't be the first university to go trayless. According to Reuters, on Earth Day this year, 300 universities served by the food management corporation Sodexo, including Georgia Tech, Tulane, Dartmouth, Colorado College, went trayless. But UT manages its own dining services, and its massive student body dictates many of its decisions. That's why Meyer helped create the Environmental Affairs Team, a collection of DHFS staff members dedicated to reducing UT's ecological footprint and evaluating and overcoming issues that will help DHFS go green. According to Meagan Jones, a member of EAT, "Along with the rest of the University, DHFS is committed to making our operation more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Decreasing food waste is just one of the many ways we are decreasing our ecological footprint."
The food management corporation Aramark recently released a comprehensive study of trayless universities, including the University of Maine at Farmington, which was one of the first universities to go trayless. On average, UMF has reduced its food waste by 5 ounces per person (46 pounds per person per year). They also save 288,288 gallons of water and reduce electricity consumption and the amount of detergent and sanitizer they use. The key to all their success, according to Aramark, was that they communicated the environmental benefits of reducing food waste and its environmental impact to their students.
At UT, we must carefully board the trayless bandwagon for it to be effective. Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich. was skeptical about how well trayless meals would be received and took painstaking efforts to inform their students and test the waters. But as Aramark's study states, "Food service directors and managers first proposed the idea to student government to gain support, presenting the overall merits of trayless. Then, going trayless was discussed with administrators, and based on the success - and data - of the test period, the program was given the green light." Today, GVSU's food waste has been reduced by 6 ounces per person.
If you're interested in getting involved in the trayless initiative at UT, the members of EAT have founded a student focus group for environmental dining issues that will reconvene in September for bimonthly meetings. The focus group's name is still up in the air, but you can contact Meagan Jones at mjones@austin.utexas.edu for more information.
Cleveland is a rhetoric and economics sophomore.
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