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The Trayless Tuesday plan has saved up to 480 gallons of water and 200 pounds of food waste each Tuesday it has been implemented, according to Rita LaRue and Stacey Rose. Currently, the Business Services department has received mixed reviews about the new plan.

Students question Trayless Tuesdays

By: Cameron Birch

Posted: 4/18/08

Drexel University has implemented a "Trayless Tuesday" program at the Handschumacher Dining Center in an effort to increase environmental sustainability and reduce waste for the month of April.

According to Rita LaRue, senior vice president of Drexel Business Services, Drexel and Sodexho have only recently decided to implement the program, which leaves students to carry their food without a tray.

The plan has saved up to 480 gallons of water and 200 pounds of food waste each Tuesday it has been implemented, according to LaRue and Stacey Rose, Student Life Assembly chair of the Undergraduate Student Government Association at Drexel.

Rose explained that the initiative was Sodexho's response to Drexel's move towards an environmentally sustainable campus. LaRue also discussed other changes in the dining hall, such as the "one-at-a-time" napkin dispenser and an effort to reduce the use of foam cups. Additionally, there has also been a switch to biodegradable detergents and flow-restricting faucets at the dining hall.

So far, the "Trayless Tuesday" policy has received mixed reviews. Based on a brief survey on one of the trayless days, LaRue concluded that there was a "50-50" agree and disagree opinion of the practice. About 500 people were surveyed, and it was found that there was a tendency for women to be more in favor of the Tuesday exercise.

Additionally, Rose said the business services department has received numerous e-mails with student feedback.

"[The] general response was, once a week is okay," LaRue said.

Sodexho employee reactions were indifferent, she added, saying there was not a significantly greater mess. However, Rose indicated students' main frustrations were being burned by the plates and the inconvenience of going back to the food area.

Freshman Alex Rinaldi, an undecided engineering major, voiced his concern over the hot plate situation.

"I walk in [to the dining hall] … and spend five minutes scalding my hands with the hot entrée plate while I look for a tray before I realize that it's a trayless Tuesday. … To be honest, it absolutely ruins my day," Rinaldi said.

This does not come as a surprise; LaRue said she found that opponents to the program tended to be more "vehement" in their opinions.

The opinions, Rose explained, were expected to accompany such a change. She specifically described Tulane University in New Orleans, La.

She said there was a "student uproar" from the sudden removal of trays from the University's dining facility.

Another freshman electrical engineering student, Brian Dolhansky, said, "Sodexho is being hypocritical - they throw out any unused food at the end of the day."

Despite the mixed opinions, the month of April will be a practice run for the program while the University decides if it should carry on the practice, according to LaRue.

She explained that they are looking at other alternatives to the program, such as smaller trays.

LaRue said, that the University will try to find ways to make environmental sustainability work before discussing the capital costs for a new tray system that includes purchasing new tray carriers.

Both Drexel and Sodexho have looked at other universities where tray conservation programs have worked. For example, Rose mentioned West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where an environmentally friendly mindset has been adopted by students.

"Only freshmen use trays [at West Chester University]. … I think it's a good idea, but not functional for our campus yet," Rose said.