You as students will be directly involved with our first initiative in beginning our Green program. In the months to come, we will be removing the cafeteria trays in the JLP Cafeteria. You may ask yourself, “how will this help in our effort to ‘Go Green‘”? By simply removing trays from their cafeterias, universities nationwide have used up to 30,0000 less gallons of water each month. Thirty thousand gallons of water, that’s a lot in itself.

Another factor influenced by the removal of trays from university cafeterias is the amount of waste. According to studies nationwide, students waste 25% to 30% less food when they aren’t carrying a tray. A school in Maine went tray-less in February 2007 and reported an overall reduction in food waste of 65,000 pounds.

Of course there will be accidents. It will take time for students to get use to the “tray-less” idea. You may have to make an extra trip for your drink or maybe put a little less on your plate each time. Remember the meals will still have unlimited seconds in the cafeteria. Going tray-less will not restrict how much you can have to eat. We are simply hoping to reduce the waste.