Where’s the stack of trays? That’s an increasingly common question as colleges forgo trays in their dining facilities to reduce energy and water consumption (from cleaning the trays) and to prevent food waste (from students piling on more than they eat).

Some students have pushed back on the trayless campaigns, saying that balancing their food and drinks without trays is like juggling. Other students lament not having sleds to use when it snows, and still others simply want to make sure they are getting their money’s worth in the dining halls.

But colleges are going trayless because the savings mean bottom-line benefits. Numerous articles have tallied the savings that campuses small and large have achieved. For example, the dining facility at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington has saved 8,782 gallons of water per day since making the trayless switch. In “The Business and Cultural Acceptance Case for Trayless Dining,” Aramark writes that colleges experience a “25-percent to 30-percent reduction in food waste per person on trayless days” (based on a study of 186,000 meals at 25 colleges and universities). The report also profiled the University of Maine at Farmington, which predicts an estimated annual savings of $57,000. Similarly, Grand Valley State University expects to save $79,000 annually.

In stories about colleges that have made the switch, however, what is rarely discussed is how the savings are used. One way campuses could sell students on the idea of going trayless would be by using the savings to cover the price premium for local, organic food — something students already want. USA Today published an article highlighting the growing student demand for organic and sustainable foods. The article quoted Philip Gant, who chose Yale University over Harvard University partially on the basis of food — “As a health-conscious member of Yale’s wrestling team,” he said, “part of why I was so excited about coming to Yale is the way it eats.”

Apart from helping to sell trayless dining to students, this example illustrates a broader lesson for campus sustainability: Whenever efforts that save money are undertaken (like going trayless or changing out inefficient light bulbs), it is vital to capture the financial savings and invest them in changes that are more costly or take a longer period of time to yield financial returns. —Niles Barnes

Niles Barnes, November’s (and December’s) Buildings & Grounds guest blogger, is projects coordinator for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. While he was a student at the University of Kentucky, he worked with both the university’s residence-life sustainability program and with its environmental club, UK Greenthumb. You can read his previous posts here, here, and here.