LETTERS: Energy conservation plan not effective for ISU Dining

Jared Ransom

The ISU Dining Center’s “No Tray Day,” last Friday, was an attempt by ISU Dining to eliminate food waste and conserve energy. Yet, if one were to think logically about what they’re trying to do, this does not solve anything. 

First, one must examine their attempt to eliminate food waste. ISU Dining’s rationale is that if someone were to not use a tray, that person would eat less food and therefore not waste as much. However, this reasoning does not have much backing considering how much food the average college student seems to eat. Missing a tray will not stop a hungry college student from getting the food that they want. They will still grab food that they can’t eat, leading to the waste that ISU Dining is trying to stop. What is stopping the students from setting food down and getting more food later? Inconvenience? Laziness? If that’s the case, we now know what ISU Dining sees in the student body at Iowa State.   

Second, there must be an examination of their attempt to conserve energy.  In their plan, they say that it takes one-third to two-thirds of a gallon of heated water to clean one tray, but this is certainly not true. According to former employees, there are multiple trays that are cleaned with less than one-third of a gallon. Also, the water is constantly running with the cleaning system, so water is not conserved anyway. The idea that eliminating trays will cut back on energy is flawed. Energy conservation, especially at Iowa State, requires more work than the removal of trays. There needs to be a greater effort on the part of ISU Dining to create a program that conserves significant amounts of energy. Having a “No Tray Day” just doesn’t cut it.  In the end, ISU Dining’s attempt to raise awareness about “wasting their future” is absurd, and those who believe in their plans to eliminate food waste and conserve energy need to take a closer look at what is actually happening. ISU Dining has to put together a plan that solves this problem — which, in the grand scheme of things, is a rather big issue. Yet, ISU Dining has gone about it the wrong way, solving nothing.

Jared Ransom

Sophomore

Journalism and mass communication