Students supporting the move to ‘go trayless' are one step closer to their goal. On Sunday, members of an environmentally focused class raised a proposal calling for the elimination of trays in Tufts' dining halls to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate.
The new initiative is the result of a campaign by members of the Experimental College class Environmental Action: Shifting from Saying to Doing. Part of a class assignment, the trayless initiative is a feasible way to reduce Tufts' environmental impact and cut down on food waste, according to students taking the course.
"We wanted to do something that had a large-scale impact on campus that could help the environment a significant amount," said sophomore Frances Wilburn, a member of the class. "A lot of people feel Tufts hasn't lived up to its claim to being a sustainable campus, a green campus."
Sophomore Alex Freedman presented the initiative to the TCU Senate alongside other members of the class, calling not only for meals sans trays but also more collaboration among student groups pushing for environmental action.
"We brought up the trayless issue, but even more firmly we pressed for a more permanent venue in Senate for students to address environmental and sustainability issues," Freedman said.
Senior Callie Kolbe, who serves on the Senate and is also in the class, echoed calls for more streamlined "green" projects.
"What happens on campus right now is a bunch of environmental groups each come up with projects and then they work in isolation," Kolbe said. "What we would like to see happen is for the Senate to have an arm or some way to help these green projects … We need to focus on environmental initiatives, not in isolation, but as a campus."
What began merely as a class project has escalated into a debate throughout campus, including the rise of several Facebook.com groups covering both sides of the issue.
Kolbe was surprised by the response from students.
"None of us realized that the trayless initiative would cause such an impact or draw so much attention," Kolbe said.
Junior Miki Vizner questioned whether going trayless would be taken seriously by students.
"If it would truly cut down on the amount of waste coming out of Tufts University dining then I would support it, but if it's just a feel-good hoax, then let me keep my tray," he said.
Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., which implemented a trayless policy this year, has reported nearly 150 pounds of food waste saved daily.
It is numbers like the ones reported by Concordia that have the group so enthusiastic about the project.
"Right now, students go to the dining hall and fill their tray up with everything they think they want, then eat half and let the rest become food waste," Wilburn said. "When there are no trays, students are more likely to fill up a plate and finish it and then go back if they want more, or find that they are full."
As far as the many negative reactions the new initiative has received on campus, Kolbe said the issue was likely more about convenience than the environment.
"The negative reactions show what people value," Kolbe said. "Those negative reactions are reactions that I have too. Yes, it is inconvenient. Some people value convenience more than they value other things."
Though eliminating trays is the project's goal, Wilburn said that it is not the only option the group is exploring.
The students are also exploring a "trayless by default" policy in which there would be fewer trays placed in a less prominent location, thus allowing students who desire a tray to acquire one without encouraging the practice.
"It makes people think about their use of trays and the environmental issues that are involved," Kolbe said. "It can help change students' habits of using trays."
For now, the project is still in the planning stages with room for student input.
The group plans to meet with Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Klos after Thanksgiving and believes it may make headway with the alternative option.
"As of this moment, it's looking a little unlikely that Dining Services and the student body would be receptive to a cold turkey cutoff," Freedman said.
Wilburn was optimistic about the meeting. "We're going to her with a full proposal for an extended trial period and a couple steps for monitoring the program and getting numbers for savings on water energy and food waste," Wilburn said. "We're hopeful that we'll be able to collaborate with dining services soon to get this thing going."
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Saumya Vaishampayan contributed reporting to this article.
