Dining
WVU Dining Services formalized its commitment to the quality stewardship of our environment by incorporating the ongoing improvement and expansion of our green initiatives into our strategic plan. One of these initiatives involved the conversion of two of our facilities to trayless dining this year, and we will expand this initiative to two more dining halls in fall 2009. A planned 2010 renovation of our largest dining facility should result in a completely trayless operation by fall 2010.
Other initiatives include donating excess food to local charities, donating our cooking oil to a local biodiesel processor, using trans fat-free oils in our fryers, switching to compact fluorescent lighting (CFL), and recycling cardboard and steel cans. We are currently researching local and regional product sources as well as biodegradable disposable tableware.
WVU’s Catering Services has begun using an Ecotainer hot cup made of paper and sugarcane, Taterware plates made from potatoes, and Greenware cold cups made from plant resins. Four on-campus coffee shops are using Greenware cups, biodegradable straws, Starbucks 10% post-consumer fiber hot cups, and Genpak deli containers.
