Bring your own reusable plates and bowls.
Welcome to Week 21 of 50 Ways to Reduce Your Waste Line. Last week, we invited you to consider sharing surplus items in your office. This week, we are returning to the first topic of Eating for Level 3. We encourage you to bring your own reusable plates and bowls when you take out food from the food services outlets on campus.
One Thing You Can Do:
Many food service outlets provide to customers convenient take-away containers made from plastic or polystyrene foam (Styrofoam) which are non-biodegradable. When these waste items are not being collected properly, they end up polluting our lakes, rivers and oceans. As well, it will take at least hundreds of years for these materials to break down. Some food service providers are more conscious about the impact of waste on the environment and they provide take-out containers that are recyclable and even compostable. However, the waste generated will require transportation and processing before they become useful resources again. To address the waste problem caused by disposable take-away containers, we challenge you to say no to the offer of disposable containers at the food outlets and instead bring your own plates and bowls that are made of environmental materials, such as bamboo, silicone, ceramic, porcelain and glass.
A great idea to keep food safe and secure is to use reusable plate and bowl covers. Some eco-friendly options include silicone covers and beeswax food wrap, which can be used separately or with your plate and bowl containers.
Some Staggering Facts:
- 14 million tons of polystyrene are produced each year with 3 million tons produced in the United States alone
- “80% of Styrofoam ends up in landfills and much of the remaining 20% in waterways”*
- “Polystyrene is made from benzene and styrene, both of which have been shown to be carcinogenic compounds”*
- It takes at least 500 years for styrofoam to break down. However, this material never truly biodegrades and could be around for more than 1 million years
*Information source: Saint Louis University
