Greens sell tupperware to reduce waste

Sarah Brown Life Editor

While many students enjoy long, leisurely meals with their friends, hectic schedules often make these types of dining experiences impossible. When students must jet from a class to a meeting to a lecture, the only option is to get food to go.

According to Head of Dining Services Maureen King, students who eat on the run use approximately 500-700 take-out containers each day at the All-Campus Dining Center (ACDC). In an attempt to reduce this large amount of plastic waste, the Vassar Greens have devised a solution about which both environmentalists and economists can be happy.
Tupperware adorned with the Greens logo can be purchased by students on Tuesdays in the College Center and then used in place of the flimsy, disposable containers. As an incentive for carrying tupperware, ACDC will offer a ten percent discount for those using the Greens ware.

Vassar Greens Treasurer Johannah Batman ’07 said that the impetus for getting the tupperware to replace the non-recyclable plastic ones was based on the idea that students do care about being environmentally savvy, particularly if it can save them money.

“We recognize that carrying around tupperware and mugs takes some initiative, which is why it is so important that ACDC has allowed for the discount,” said Batman.

Approximately two weeks ago, the Greens ordered 600 tupperware containers and they plan to sell them every Tuesday in the College Center from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $3.

The containers are the newest addition to the already-available line of Greens mugs. These mugs can be used at either ACDC or The Retreat and, like the Tupperware containers, garner their user a ten-percent discount.

Other recent Greens initiatives include getting students to use cloth towels instead of paper towels in bathrooms.

“I always use cloth towels, and am trying to get my friends to also,” said Greens member Sophie Muschel-Horton ’09.

Finally, thanks to the efforts of Greens in conjunction with the Sustainability Committee, ACDC will soon switch to a new composting system run by Greenway Environmental, located out at the Vassar Farm. For now, only food waste amassed in preparation will by composted (not post-consumer waste, i.e. what is scrapped off a student plates on a daily basis). Eventually, ACDC's composted food will return back to the Vassar campus in the form of nutrient rich soil provided to Buildings and Grounds by Greenway.