As Penn State students, we have all likely noticed and encountered the university’s sustainability initiatives. There are green Reuse containers at all of the dining halls, and the many different disposal options are labeled next to each other. There’s compost, landfill, recycling, and glass. It is nice to see that our university takes sustainability and waste management seriously, as someone who cares about the environment and tries to limit the excess waste I contribute.
However, sustainability is especially difficult in our exact situation, a 40,000+ person campus. College students rely extensively on convenience, whether it be lunch during a busy day of class at the dining hall or a quick coffee from Starbucks in the morning. Universities naturally generate copious amounts of waste, whether it be food waste, plastic waste, or paper waste. With such a large amount of people at the university, the waste associated with this occupancy is even larger.
Many colleges struggle with combatting food waste, as the setup of dining halls with buffets consequently leads to a larger output of food that isn’t consumed and is thrown away. Twenty-two million pounds of food are wasted annually on college campuses, and many universities have attempted to combat this through initiatives and systemic changes, as well as increasing knowledge of waste on campus. We can see this easily on our campus. As an East Halls resident who mainly eats at the East Dining Hall, I see the large display they show at the dish return that counts the amount of pounds of food waste there was the day before. I am always surprised by how high this amount of food waste is and have begun to think more carefully about how much food I should put on my plate. I, like most other students, fall into the trap of getting more food than I can actually eat.
Penn State’s food waste tracker helps to educate students and gives them a moment to think about how much they actulaly need to get. The Reuse containers attempt to decrease the amount of waste from the to-go system at the dining halls as well, although I have not used them before. Penn State is attempting to control food waste through multiple facets, but have more to do to further improve overall sustainability.
Some proponents for more sustainable college campuses point to the waste that takes place during move in and move out. With strict move out times and days, experts have noticed that college students can leave behind a great amount of various appliances and bulky items in the stressful time. This is another occurence of connivence trumping sustainability. Experts say college students generate about 640 pounds of waste annually, and find that students easily discard things such as clothing, books, and furniture to start fresh the next year. This waste builds up, espcially on large college campuses.
Many universities are aware of the waste they generate and are moving to more sustainable practices. While these practices are not perfect, they are a step in the right direction that many colleges should seek to reach for.
I’ve definitely also noticed the measures that the university has taken to try to reduce waste, and I agree that it’s a good start. I think the best thing they can do is try to educate us and provide us with the resources needed to help us eliminate waste, which has already started, as you explained. This is such an important issue, and it’s great that you are vocal about it and feel passionately. Being more cognizant of what we are throwing away can make such a huge impact on our behaviors. Great job!
As someone who is also conscious of our environment and how we are impacting it, I enjoy seeing the precautions our university takes to alleviate some of our sustainability issues. I think that a lot of the measures that our campus takes are helpful and can’t be missed even by those who aren’t environmentally conscious. A lot of the methods that we implement can be useful, but it is good that you pointed out how difficult of a task this could be with such a large campus. I wonder how our university compares to others in the area of sustainability. Are we more progressive than other, or are there some tactics that other schools have that we should implement as well. When dealing with these kinds of issues that impact our world as a whole it is important that we take note of what works for others as well and see how we can make the same strides as other communities.
I don’t always realize how much I necessarily waste my food, but I know I am constantly throwing away stuff. This blog has really put into perspective how much unawareness I have of what ways I am discarding my trash. I am not a big recycler but I do understand the effects of it and why it is necessary. You did a really good job explaining this. I am planning on trying to become more invested in the environment. It is a really big issue, and impacts a range of people.