Collegiate Times

With the third highest ranked campus food in the nation, it’s no surprise that students flock to Virginia Tech’s dining halls. A number of dining halls and many more kiosks conveniently cater to the hungry student body throughout the day. 

Though there’s no doubt we enjoy some of the best campus cuisine, it is not as easy to gage the efficiency with which our dining halls operate and understand the effect they can have on our environment.

Inefficiently run dining halls can produce thousands of tons of food and material waste each day. Leftover food products not composted or donated add to the already exorbitant amounts of waste in landfills. Lack of recycling bins and sorting services add otherwise recyclable materials to the waste stream and increase the demand for virgin materials. 

Non-reusable and unsustainable packaging can sit in landfills for thousands of years before fully degrading and have the potential to pollute air, soil and waterways.

When evaluating the efficiency of dining halls, the first place to look is the food. The distance food and ingredients travel has a substantial impact on the environment. Products purchased from distant or overseas vendors reinforce our dependence on non-renewable energy sources such as oil and coal for shipping, and increase the air pollution associated with carbon emissions. 

Furthermore, the integrity of food grown and produced from distant sources is questionable in terms of the use of pesticides and fertilizers. An eco-friendly alternative is to grow as many food products as possible locally. 

Universities can create their own community gardens or enter into an agreement with local farmers. Local agriculture affords the school greater food accountability, efficiency and supports our domestic economy. 

The next area to evaluate is how a dining hall manages its waste. Dining halls can reduce their impact by collecting leftovers and composting them. 

Not only does composting reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, compost becomes a nutrient rich fertilizer that can be used for gardening and agriculture. Using silverware instead of plastic utensils is another way to cut back on the amount of trash generated.

Many universities now incentivize the use of reusable containers and cups rather than disposable ones by offering monetary discounts to students who bring them. When it comes to packaging, less is more. 

Dining halls should use minimal packaging and replace Styrofoam and paper products with biodegradable and compostable materials for to-go containers. Bates College in Maine offers an excellent example of how university dining halls can be run efficiently. 

By recycling and composting leftovers and using minimal packaging, the college has achieved an 82 percent waste diversion rate. Not only that, but they also sell their used cooking oil for biodiesel. For any dining hall, however, waste separation systems are essential. 

By placing large labeled recycling bins next to every trash bin or tray collector, individuals know exactly what to place where and are more likely to continue recycling in the future. 

Resource efficiency, or the lack thereof, is another factor that contributes to the impact college cafeterias have on the environment. Energy efficient appliances, natural lighting and low flow faucets can significantly reduce a dining hall’s energy consumption. An easy way to cut water waste is to eliminate the use of trays.

Research shows that discontinuing the use of trays saves water that would otherwise be used to wash the trays and reduces the amount of food that goes to waste. When using trays, individuals are inclined to grab more food than they will actually eat. 

In terms of sanitation, dining halls should use eco-friendly cleaners instead of harsh chemicals that can pollute waterways through runoff. Cloth rags are a better option than paper towels and disposable wipes for cleaning up messes and spills.

At Tech, Dining Services has made a considerable effort to become more sustainable. Though Hokie Grill still offers trays, D2 and Shultz have completely eliminated them from their halls. 

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A version of this article appeared in the Dec 2 issue of the Collegiate Times.