Dining Services cleans up its act

In response to student outcry and RHA attention, Facilities Management has placed three new trash cans outside The Diner to collect the mounds of trash that pile up during Late Night dining hours.

"The problem occurs when you have food being sold takeout style at a time in the night when there is no one to service the area and collect it," Assistant Director of Landscape Services for Facilities Management Bill Monan said. "We didn't notice the problem until it was pointed out to us, but when we saw the situation, it didn't look good."

The three new cans, which cost about $500 a piece, seem to be doing the job. Monan said trash collectors have been monitoring the situation daily since the change, and have noticed less litter in the quad. Facilities Management is continuing to meet with Dining Services and the Residence Hall Association to come up with ideas to further mitigate the situation, including installing a compactor or removing trash cans from the area.

"It sounds counterintuitive, but when you put trash cans in an area, you're telling people that they can put their trash there, and people are very likely to just pile trash on top of an overflowing can," Monan said. "When you take the most used, most convenient cans away, some people take their trash with them, others throw it away inside or at other locations, and ultimately, the trash is distributed better."

While Monan stands by the trash management technique, he does not plan on taking the bins out of the Ellicott quad any time soon. Instead, the team is considering installing a trash compactor for recyclables.

"We've been considering testing out a trash compactor somewhere on campus for a while now," Monan said. "We've been reluctant to do it because they're so expensive, but this seems like a good place to have a compactor because there is so much trash."

A compactor would cost between $3,000 and $5,000 but would be able to crush the bulky take-out containers that have been blamed for much of the problem.

"We train our employees to ask if students want a paper plate or a container during late night," Dining Services Director Colleen Wright-Riva said. "If all the students who dine in during Late Night opt for the containers, there will ultimately be less trash."

Ultimately, both Dining Services and Facilities Management are working together to make sure the trash that is deposited from 7 p.m. to midnight doesn't cause any problems for students before it is collected at 6 a.m. the next day.

"The RHA does not waste a minute telling me about problems with trash collection and we need to serve their needs because we're working for them — we're working for the students," Monan said.

hemmati at umdbk dot com