Trayless dining reduces food waste at University of Missouri

Trayless dining at the University of Missouri has reduced food waste on the campus in Columbia by more than 15,000 pounds per month. The university's Campus Dining Services (CDS) says the school began serving meals without trays in August 2011. Prior to that, more than 664,000 pounds of food--about 55,000 pounds a month--was discarded. In addition to conserving food, Missouri also is conserving energy and water that would have been used washing trays. The change also helps deter overeating among college students.