WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Lycoming College students, faculty and staff are going green by going “trayless” in the College’s cafeteria. On Jan. 20 and 27, cafeteria patrons ate each meal without using trays. According to Steve Storck, vice president and treasurer at Lycoming, the College plans to expand the initiative to two days per week beginning the first week of February.
“We intend to continue expanding the program throughout the spring semester until the trays are eventually removed from the dining room,” said Storck. “This will reduce the use of soap and water needed to clean the 2,000 trays that students, faculty and staff typically use each day in the cafeteria. Eliminating the use of trays will also eliminate the amount of natural gas used to heat the water that would have been used to clean the trays. This will reduce the amount of soap and water that enters the Williamsport sewer system, thereby benefiting the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”
According to Storck, the reduction of food waste impacts sustainability all along the food production, consumption and disposal chain. He says the impact on Lycoming County’s landfill alone during a period of one year will be significant.
“College and Sodexo (Lycoming’s food service provider) officials are committed to redeploying the savings from the reduction of energy and food waste into the dining program at the College,” said Storck. “Thus, not only will students be benefiting the environment, but also themselves.”
Founded in 1812 in Williamsport, Pa., Lycoming College is a national liberal arts and sciences institution dedicated to the undergraduate education of more than 1,400 students. Lycoming is one of the 50 oldest colleges in the nation. For more information, visit www.lycoming.edu.
