When students first walk into the diner for a meal, from the row of booths to the subtle neon lights the aesthetic of the dining area feels like an authentic diner, minus the waiters and waitresses serving the food.
There are many differences between a regular diner and the SXU diner, but the most prominent is the material we eat our food off of. In a regular diner, people get their meals on plates while we get our food on paper made containers, plastic, and black styrofoam plates.
While having everything served on disposable plates in more time-efficient for both the cafeteria staff and the students, it is not eco-friendly due to all the waste it produces. Currently, there are about 3,896 students enrolled at SXU.
That number may not seem very high for a college, but when thinking in terms of waste due to how many students go in and out of the diner throughout the day, it becomes a high number.
Most students who live on campus tend to eat at the diner for every meal of the day unless they choose to go off campus for their food. Three meals a day, plus snacks that are all in or on plastic adds up very quickly.
It is not just the plastic that contributes to waste, but the food is wasted as well. On college campuses, twenty-two million pounds of food are wasted each year. The average college student contributes to about one hundred and forty-two pounds in food waste.
While people may think that they can just recycle the plastic and paper containers the food is served on, this is not true. People are not supposed to recycle anything with food still on it because it can not be used in creating new materials. This is due to the oils and grease that get on the paper.
There are numerous benefits to cutting down on plastic and food waste in the diner. The most prominent benefit is that reducing the use of plastic decreases the amount of waste that goes into the landfill.
Another benefit from not wasting so much food is it not only decreases cost, but helps to avoid greenhouse gas emissions from the waste. There are many resources that get used in the production of food. People have to grow the crops, manufacture the products, and then sell the food. This takes a lot of resources and all the processing consumes energy.
When there is a lower demand for food production, fewer resources are needed, thus decreasing the waste of not only food but energy and resources.
If the SXU diner used plastic when students were taking food to go and used trays that could be washed and reused, it would cut down on waste. Waste in all forms is a negative aspect that comes with consumerism, and if we can do just a tiny part in helping reduce waste then we can contribute to making the Earth and better and healthier place to live.
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