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Dining on Campus: The Eco-Clamshell Life

The Eco-Clamshell sitting peacefully in Danforth Dining Hall

 

Back-to-back classes during lunchtime? Meetings during dinnertime? Is your  schedule so hectic that sometimes you can't find the time to grab a bite? Worry  no more! University Dining Services has got you covered. They devised a system  to help all of us starving students eat on the go. This is the eco-clamshell: a  green plastic reusable container with three ample compartments to carry all your  food around campus so you eat at your convenience.

Although it provides a very favorable service for students, the true purpose of the eco-clamshell is to reduce waste from the use of disposable containers. By using a clamshell regularly, you can save up to 1,232 disposable plates over four years of studying!

How it works:

  1. Purchase an eco-clamshell at any dining location on campus using either declining balance, cash, credit, URos or one of your seven "additional guest meals."
  2. Don't lose it! The right to receive an eco-clamshell is yours until you graduate (unless you lose your clamshell, of course, in which case you must purchase a new one—so don't be careless!).
  3. Bring the clamshell to the cafeteria.
  4. Fill it up with delicious food.
  5. When you are done eating, you can bring it back and exchange it for either a clean clamshell or an eco-keychain (which serves as a voucher for a clamshell) that you can carry around campus easily.

The eco-clamshell is definitely an important part of the college experience here at the U of R for many students. For me, it has been a true lifesaver, as I have very little time between classes during lunchtime to eat in the cafeteria. I just fill up my clamshell and eat at my convenience anywhere on campus. It is especially useful during late-night study sessions, when eating in the cafeteria means losing precious study time.

 

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