So I've decided to narrow my topic down to the dining and waste management practices in the cafeteria. I'm going to do research into the new practices that have been implemented including the real plates vs. the styrofoam plates that the "healthy food" is served on, the disappearance of the plastic baskets they used to use, and the recycling practices in the cafeteria. I'll try to get into contact with Sonya Elder and do some investigation of my own. I'd be particularly interested in seeing how many people actually recycle and what motivations are hidden behind these choices. I would also be interested in seeing how effective the recycling process actually is and what they can do to improve it.
Also, how do our dining practices compare to other schools in the area? Or around the world even? I'm sure there are schools in Sweden that cook by using solar power or something of that nature. We will most definitely not go that extreme, but what are other schools doing to go green? Also what is the cost of all this? In dollars? How much money needs to be spent or raised to make these changes to the system? Because new materials need to be purchased, some people may have to work more so wages may have to increase. Where does this fit into the school budget? And how do other schools deal with that? This could really develop into an interesting project. And what about the actual structure of the cafeteria itself? Is there something about how the food lines move that can take up more or less energy? Is it well insulated enough so that too much heating does not have to be used to keep such a wide space warm. There are a lot of great questions to answer here.
I like this focus; I think you'll find a lot of interesting things once you start to dig a little. You might do some web searching to see what other, non-school institutions are doing to make serving stuff more green. Schools are usually years behind the curve, so looking for more advanced systems might give you some worthwhile ideas.
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