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Freshman Marina Nolen, 18, picks up lunch Thursday at New Mexico State University's Taos Restaurant using a new reusable container. "It'll be less of a waste," she said of the plastic containers as she walked to her dorm, lunch in hand.

LAS CRUCES - Customers at New Mexico State University's Taos Restaurant use 1,200 cardboard to-go containers daily. That's enough containers to equal the length of seven tour buses at 48 feet long or the height of 54 Kobe Bryant basketball players.

On Sunday, NMSU Campus Dining made the switch from cardboard containers to plastic, reusable ones in order to reduce waste on campus and ultimately contribute less garbage to landfills, Cathy Fleischacker, NMSU senior food service director, said.

"I think it's a great idea because it saves a lot of waste from landfills and it provides a different green opportunity for the university," Daniel Stong, a NMSU senior, said.

Students with a meal plan will now receive one free "Eco To-Go" container that can be used at Taos Restaurant for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They rinse the container and return it to either Taos, Java City, College Canteen or the Aggie Snack Bar and a card will be issued for a new, clean container. A replacement container can be purchased for $5, which is the same cost for those who are not on a meal plan.

"To throw away between 1,200 and 1,500 to-go containers into the trash every day is ... I don't even have words for how painful that is for me to know that happens. And that's just our school," said Joni Newcomer, NMSU manager of environmental policy and sustainability. "... If you multiply that times the rest of the U.S. and the world, it's a pretty huge figure."

Fleischacker said she was unsure

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if there would be a cost savings at this point, since the initiative is so new.

Taos Restaurant is a primary dinning facility on campus. Located in Corbett Center, it serves 3,200 to 3,500 customers daily, said Mohamed Jouini, NMSU food services director.

Taos Restaurant hours

•Monday-Thursday: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

•Friday: 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

•Saturday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. brunch; 5 to 7 p.m. dinner

•Sunday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. brunch; 5 to 7 p.m. dinner