Every day, enormous mounds of soggy Lucky Charms, half-eaten apples and rubbery chicken pieces pile up in the dish rooms of Harvard's dining halls.

But this week, as dining hall officials audit the amount of food Wasted and post the results on bright orange carrot-shaped charts, dining hall managers and students are finding out what those enormous mounds really mean.

The results of the first Harvard Food Waste Audit are in, and the initial figures show that first-years students both take and waste more food than students at any of the upperclass houses, according to Alexandra E. McNitt, project manager for the Harvard Dining Services.

Some students interviewed yesterday said they are paying attention to the signs showing how much food they waste.

"It has made me a little more aware of wasting food," said Eric M. Kelly '97." I've made a small effort not to take as much and to come back for seconds instead."

So far, the Union carrots show the highest amount of waste, and McNitt said she is not surprised.

"The lines are very long and frustrating," she said. "So I hypothesize that the students don't want to come back to get seconds."

There is also a learning curve associated with age McNitt said.

"Once students get into the houses, grow up a little more, and have gained 20 pounds from freshman year, they begin to manage themselves a little more," she said.

But John Shaeffer, assistant manager of the Union, said the first-years have made some efforts towards wasting less food, and are not so far behind the rest of the undergraduates.

"By the color of the carrot, we're right up there with the rest of them," he said.

Shaeffer, who proposed moving the tub of waste to a location where first-years could easily see it, was enthusiastic about the results of the study thus far.

He said that between Monday and Thursday, the Union-goes reduced their waste output from 3/4 to 1/2 pound per person per day.

"I don't think the freshmen waste as much as it was thought, and I'm really pleased at the results," he said.

Claudia Y. Sanchez '97, who works at the Union, said she is not surprised with the high first-year waste.