ASHLAND, Wis. - Northland College is taking another step to reduce its environmental impact by no longer offering trays in its cafeteria.

In the fall semester, the College began Tray-less Tuesdays, an initiative that saved 138 gallons of water each Tuesday by not offering trays to

students. Now, Northland is extending the policy for the other six days of the week.

"We estimate we ran 828 fewer trays through the dish machine on Tuesdays" said Jeff Spangenberg, the director of food service at Northland. Because a tray takes twice as much space in the dishwashing machines as a plate, eliminating them is a simple but effective way to reduce the environmental impact of food service.

In addition to saving water, energy, dish soap and time, the policy also will cut down on food waste. By only using a plate, and going back to

the buffet for seconds if necessary, students are less likely to over-estimate their appetites and take food they won't eat. When Viterbo University went tray-less in 2007, they eliminated nearly three tons of food waste in two semesters. While Northland has fewer mouths to feed, the results are still expected to be significant.

"Removing the trays in the cafeteria is a simple way for the college to conserve energy and water by changing our behavior. These incremental

savings all add up to taking responsibility for our carbon footprint," said Clare Hintz, campus sustainability coordinator at Northland.

Northland College and its Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute are located in Ashland, Wis., near the shores of Lake Superior. The College has been recognized as one of the top colleges in the nation for science and mathematics, as a model environmental campus for the Lake Superior Basin, and as one of Wisconsin's true liberal arts colleges. Founded in

1892, Northland now enrolls 700 students from 42 states and Puerto Rico as well as Canada, Germany, the Czech Republic, Trinidad and Tobago. For more information about Northland College and its Institute, visit our Web site at www.northland.edu.

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