01/26/10 - Weakley County

UTM Goes Trayless
By: Stephanie Ryan
sryan@wbbjtv.com
7:25 p.m.
 
At The University of Tennessee at Martin cafeteria, you will find all the trappings of a college cafe: burgers, a salad bar, home-style entrees, spoons and forks... but no trays.  
 
Campus dining leaders got rid of trays at the end of the Fall 2009 semester.  They hope the lack of platters will mean a big savings for the University.
 
Sodexho Manager Charles Thomas estimates that savings to be close to $240,000.  He said a new dish washing machine, combined with no more trays, will mean less water used to clean.  It will also save the school $40,000 a year on just detergent alone, according to Thomas.
 
"In the old dish machine we had before, it was continuously running, so the water was constantly going down the drain.  With the new system, not only is the water being recycled, but there's a sensor that cuts itself off when it senses there's nothing there to wash," Thomas said.
 
Thomas estimates the University used to cleanse upwards of 8,000 trays per day.  Now, that number is zero.
 
Thomas also said the cafeteria has cut down on the amount of food waste, because students aren't piling their trays up with plates full of food they may not eat.
 
"We've gone from averaging about 1,500 pounds of garbage a day to probably about 300 pounds a day," Thomas said.  "It's not a situation where you get all this food on your tray and eat one plate and throw the rest of it away."
 
Thomas said he hopes the money the cafeteria saves the university will go towards more activities for students.