Letter to the Editor: Is SLU Sustainable?
St. Lawrence University is known as a school that wants to be sustainable. Evidence of SLU’s sustainable methods are seen all over campus, with split recycle/waste bins, used dorm decor sales, and many ways to be involved with eco-friendly events and clubs.
A quick online search shows that SLU received a silver medal in the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System, or STARS program.
This system measures colleges on a bronze to platinum scale according to their sustainable methods. But is SLU doing enough to live up to these sustainability standards?
Anyone who looks around our campus dining areas would see tons of plastic. Along with regular meals, students have the option of salads, fruit, yogurt, and baked goods.
The issue with these choices is that they’re all wrapped in plastic. While the cafe has stopped selling bottled water, plastic bottled drinks are still available. This means students use a lot of plastic in everyday life. In fact, STARS estimates that each person at SLU produces 0.3 tons of trash annually. Where does this large amount come from?
STARS rated SLU’s food and dining a 1.63 out of 8, with purchasing unavailable for rating. This means that SLU declined to rate food purchasing.
This is interesting, since I believe that food purchasing must produce a ton of plastic. STARS estimates that SLU produces about 601 tons of waste every year, and one can only speculate how much of that comes from our food services.
While there is encouragement to lessen waste from mail packages, plastic bottles, and paper, dining halls are definitely an area where improvement is needed.
Students are encouraged to use the recycling and composting bins on campus. But a quick observation shows that students hardly ever use them the right way. Items that could be recycled are instead thrown in the trash, and many compostable food items are thrown in the trash as well.
According to a 2019 article in The Guardian, most recycling in America goes to the landfill anyways. This means that recycling simply cannot be where our sustainable practices stop. SLU should be encouraging students to lessen waste on all fronts, and use our waste facilities properly.
These are just a few examples of excess waste occurring on campus, and these could be replaced with more environmentally friendly options if people were aware of the issue. With 300 pounds of waste being produced per person, there are changes everyone can make to lessen their waste.
SLU could make a large impact with a few changes, such as eliminating plastic products with to-go foods, strengthening the student’s understanding of recycling and composting, and realizing that recycling cannot be the end of our sustainable practices.