Balancing cups, plates and the environment | The Yale Daily News

Students at Middlebury College perform juggling acts three times a day, navigating through crowded dining halls with cups, plates and cutlery in hand. A sign by the servery explains it all: In an effort to conserve energy, Middlebury banished trays from its dining halls in the summer of 2007.

Without a tray, students are less likely to take more food than they can consume in one sitting, reducing the quantity of waste — or so the theory goes. Eliminating trays also decreases the amount of water and chemicals used in washing the trays.

. . .

Matthew Biette, the director of Middlebury Dining, reported that since implementing trayless dining at Middlebury, waste has decreased by about .75 ounces per meal. Students, he said, are doing a better job of selecting only what they are going to eat.

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