Students interested in to-go plate orders from Galliano Dining Hall can join the green initiative with reusable plates and cups in an effort to reduce the amount of styrofoam and plastic dinnerware used on campus.  
Nicholls Dining Services, along with Sodexo and the Food Advisory Association, initiated the “Nicholls Goes Green” program at the beginning of the semester with 1500 reusable plates.  About 300 or more of the dining ware purchased are in circulation at this time.  
Brenda Haskins, executive director of auxiliary services, said, “Our whole idea was to reduce the amount of styrofoam and plastic going into the waste bins.”
Haskins said the idea developed from wanting to make students more aware of how much they use styrofoam and plastic and throw it away without noticing.  
She researched other schools that also had an interest in the Greenware initiative and gained support and advice from the Food Advisory Association at Nicholls who also had an interest in the program.  
“We ordered the plates in August and we just got them in December,” Haskins said.  “They were on back order, which tells me it has really caught on and they couldn’t make them fast enough.”  
All housing students with a meal plan are entitled to a clear green, reusable plate with any to-go meal.  In the case of a misplaced plate, a new one can be purchased for $2.  
“If students come to the resident dining hall and they don’t have time to sit and eat, instead of getting a styrofoam to-go plate they get a reusable three-compartment plate,” Russell Barrios, general manager for Sodexo, said. “We keep them at the cash stand so anyone who says ‘I want my meal to go,’ we give them one of those containers.”  
He added that the containers are much sturdier and can hold more food than the average to go plate.  
Each student is responsible for rinsing and drying their plate after their meal.  Upon their return to the cafeteria, the cashier will accept the reusable plate in its original condition.  The cashier will place the plate in a bin with other used plates that need to be sanitized, and students will receive a new sanitized plate to use.  
“All students have to do is take the plate, wash it and bring it back rinsed and dried for the program to be successful,” Haskins said.  “We recycle and reuse those trays over and over again so that we’re not just throwing all types of Styrofoam in the garbage.”  
The reusable cup portion of the program started last fall when each student who lives in on-campus housing received a cup with the label “Nicholls Goes Green” for free.
The 18 oz. reusable cups can be used at any Sodexo location for refills at a discounted price.  Students who lose a cup or wish to purchase a new one can do so from a dining hall cashier for $3.
Haskins said the green initiative is a program that auxiliary services will continue into the fall of 2013 in order to help improve the environment with the amount of paper, plastic, Styrofoam and essentially money that goes in the garbage.
“Students seem interested and they want to do the right thing,” Haskins said.  “The trays are starting to catch on around campus and at other Universities.”