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Students eating at the dining halls could find themselves with their hands full.
Peggy Connors, associate director of housing for residence hall dining, said students should expect a different look to the dining halls, including the absence of trays in the dining rooms and plastic bags at the express locations.
The decision to ditch the trays and plastic bags should help housing save water, money and food, Conners said.
"This is as passionate as I have been about any project the last 18 years," Connors said. "I really feel what we're doing will make a difference and the students will respond well to it."
Connors said each tray took a half-gallon of water each to clean and the university would go through more than 287,000 plastic bags every year.
As a substitute for the plastic bags, University Housing has issued a reusable bag to each student living on campus. Connors said the reusable bag could save more than 24 plastic bags per month for each person and save the university from having to purchase more.
Melanie Whitelow, a freshman from Chicago studying pre-nursing, said she is happy there are no more plastic bags because they are a hassle and wasteful.
"I really like the bag they gave us because plastic bags are pointless," Whitelow said. "You get a bag and it rips, you get another and it rips again, so I'm glad I don't have to use those."
Connors said the decision to get rid of trays should have the biggest effect because it would cut down food waste, water usage, energy consumption and chemical use. According to the "green facts" given by University Housing in every reusable bag, if each student served wasted four ounces of food, it would equal 300 pounds of food waste every day.
Connors said she hopes students would waste less with no trays to use, but Emily Toohill, a sophomore from Springfield studying psychology, said she has not seen a major difference yet.
"I understand why they took away the trays, to go green and all, but I don't see how it will make a difference." Toohill said. "I think it would be easier for the students if there were still trays."
While the benefits may not be seen immediately, Connors said she is confident the move will be beneficial.
In a study done by Aramark, a food services company, 72,680 of 92,000 students said they thought trayless dining would reduce waste. On some trayless campuses, a 50-percent decline in food waste was reported.
Connors said it is important to cut waste because the vermicomposting center the university uses can only handle the waste from one meal in one hall per day. The vermicomposting center is a worm farm where the leftover food is dumped after being pulped into liquid.
Chris Klarer, past president of the Student Environmental Center, said getting rid of the trays will not only save waste and water, but will also conserve energy.
"It does reduce water usage which reduces energy because they don't have to use warm water or hot water which you have to use electricity to heat the water," he said.
To make the transition easier, Connors said the dining halls made changes such as putting the silverware on the tables. Though she said she expects some spills, she said it would pay off in the long run.
"We will probably be doing a little more cleaning than usual at first, but in the long run, this will save energy, money and food."
Jeff Engelhardt can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 268 or jengel@siu.edu.
