Taking out the trash: Food Services eliminates individual containers for economic, environmental concerns

This semester students will see the end of packaged condiments, milk and yogurt at on-campus eateries in favor of economic and environmental benefits for Murray State, Director of Food Services Richard Fritz said.

Bulk dispensers are replacing the packaged condiments and dairy to reduce waste production and costs associated with packaging and dumping fees, Fritz said.

The changes should be in place early this semester.

"This last year, dining services spent about $45,000 on packets of ketchup, mustard (and) mayonnaise," he said. "Of that, at least 50 percent of the cost is packaging. On the other side of that we haven't even accounted for the trash cost. Environmentally, from that perspective, none of that stuff's recyclable."

Fritz is working with student recycling coordinators Erin Black, senior from Radcliff, Ky., and Stephanie Galla, sophomore from Glen Ellyn, Ill., to initiate more recycling in campus dining halls.

Galla said the Styrofoam cups and carry-out containers in Winslow and the Thoroughbred Room are recyclable, but they are doing test collections in Hester and Clark colleges to see if students will take advantage of recycling facilities.

There should be bins to recycle Styrofoam at the start of the spring semester.

"It's a hand-in-hand process," Galla said. "We have to have students who are willing to do it. If you have a passion for it, you have to realize the consequences."

Some students are opposed to the changes being made because of the inconvenience to students on the go.

Lindsey Neeley, senior from Nashville, Tenn., disagrees with the changes.

"I don't like the fact that they're doing away with individual packets," she said. "I don't think it's fair for students who get their meals to go because it's harder on them. They might not have everything at home. I don't live on campus, a lot of my friends don't have a meal plan, and I don't want to sit in the cafeteria."

Fritz addressed the fact that Murray State students live in a society that is fast-paced and need meals to go. However, his primary concern is that Food Services provides to-go meals as economically priced and environmentally friendly as possible.

"Taking away products doesn't change people's habits and doesn't necessarily educate people on what the issues are," he said. "We still have that issue and we're always going to have that issue. People are more and more on the go.

"They have portable lifestyles (and) you just can't take china plates with you and track them up and down the street. The reality is disposable are a part of our society. It's our responsibility to help people figure out what to do with them when they're done."