Dining halls go green with environment-friendly moves

This semester, Baylor’s dining halls jumped headfirst into supporting the University’s efforts to be more environmentally friendly. Most notably, the new “Eco to-go” program in the residential restaurants replaced many of the old Styrofoam takeout boxes with reusable containers, reducing the use of Styrofoam by 40 percent!

Students do still have the option of using Styrofoam carryout boxes. The reusable to-go box is on a voluntary basis, with about 1,300 of the environmentally friendly containers in use across campus. While the 40 percent reduction in Styrofoam is a good start, Dining Services has made a goal to eventually phase out Styrofoam. Dining locations no longer offer Styrofoam cups in any dining location.

And that’s just the beginning! Baylor dining halls have also done away with the old cafeteria trays, thus reducing the amount of wasted food and water used for cleaning (not to mention the chemicals). At the end of November, 171,000 pounds (85.5 tons!) of waste had been diverted from drains and landfills.  Cooking grease and oils are collected for bio-diesel research, and of course recycling is promoted all across campus. For a list of even more ways that Baylor’s dining halls are working to make campus more green, visit their website.

Sic ’em, Baylor Dining Services!