Dining Services is launching a new campaign this semester aimed at encouraging students to eat in the dining halls, a move officials hope will cut back on waste created by carry-out containers, they said.
The program, called Eat IN-itiative, goes hand-in-hand with other environmentally friendly initiatives Dining Services unveiled, including the elimination of non-biodegradable foam containers. Eat IN-itiatives will be rolled out in three phases, said spokesman Bart Hipple, the first of which includes an advertising campaign in both the dining halls and dorms.
Hipple declined to provide details about the other two phases.
Last semester, diners used more than 464,000 take-out containers, which equates to about 66 containers per student in on-campus housing, Hipple said. The Eat IN-itiative aims to reduce the number of containers students use this semester by 15 percent. He said a four-week report will be conducted that compares the number of take-out containers ordered to the number remaining in stock.
The dining halls switched this semester to containers made from Bagasse, a biodegradable substance derived from sugarcane. Although the containers can be composted, students must return them to the dining halls for them to be disposed of properly. Dining hall staff sort the Bagasse containers from other trash when they are disposed of on the conveyor belt.
“We’re asking for students’ help,” Hipple said, adding he hopes students will bring the containers back to the dining halls so they can be composted.
But sophomore Adam Shapiro, who almost always uses to-go containers, said he would not bring his trash back to the diners.
“It’s too much effort,” Shapiro said. “I would just forget.”
Pallavi Kumar, a junior biology major, said although the new containers are beneficial to the environment, she would probably not go out of her way to return them to the dining halls.
“It’s a hassle,” she said. “It’s kind of gross.”
Dining Services also wants to use fewer take-out trays because the new Bagasse containers cost about three times more than the old foam ones, Hipple said.
“We have set aside money to absorb that cost this first semester,” he added.
Hipple also said the containers, which are one inch smaller, should not affect the portions students receive because the new trays are closer to the size of plates.
The Dining Services Sustainability Work Group played a role in developing the concept behind this initiative and concentrated on the theme of “reduce, reuse and recycle,” with the most important factor being “reduce,” Hipple said.
Student Government Association Senior Vice President Joanna Calabrese, a member of the work group, said she hopes the presence of the Eat IN-itiative on the campus will encourage students go green.
The most sustainable choice, Hipple said, is to just eat inside the dining halls.
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