Sustaining State of Mind

By Shayla Sturgis

One of the major differences I noticed while abroad was the differences in sustainability and accessibility. While I can’t speak for most parts of the United States, most of the major cities I’ve visited in the last few years have a significantly different approach to sustainability efforts than what appears in England.

The first major difference I noticed appeared on the British Airways flight on the way there. Primarily in the way that they provide silverware made from the same material as Popsicle sticks. I had never seen this before in the states, so I assumed it must be something special to this particular airline, but to my surprise, these more sustainable and easier to recycle versions of the US-equivalent plastic silverware were just about everywhere from the Sakurado, the Japanese dessert shop a walk away from our hotel to large chain restaurants. Even the large chain Pret-A-Manger had their own compostable silverware to replace the popular wooden option. This trend continued beyond just cutlery and extended to straws as well. While in the US, paper straws are becoming increasingly popular, especially in large cities, but in most sustainable, but also to keep our environment clean and healthy. Even one small change like Coca-Cola bottles having the caps attached to recycle together instead of becoming litter can eventually turn to businesses doing more. Some other big difference between major companies between the US and the UK seems to be accessibility. In the United States, it’s not uncommon to see Spanish offered as an alternative language in some places on menus, maps, guides, and so on, but it’s not particularly consistent in most areas. In London, it was common to see restaurants, there were few straws to be found all together, often opting to put drinks into glasses whenever possible, but when a straw had to be used, I was interested to find that a similar type of reinforced black paper straw was used instead of the thin paper straws I had seen in the states, still dissolving over time, but not nearly as quickly as many of the straws that can be found in coffee shops and food trucks around the United States. Though these changes aren’t entirely worldchanging on their own, they’re a step in the right direction by major companies, showcasing the ability of major companies to make that same switch in the United States, and begin doing their part in both countries to keep their practices many alternative translations, Spanish and French being the most common, but sometimes even Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic were offered. On top of language options, there’s much more accessibility to people with hearing and vision impairments. Almost all elevators and trains announced when doors were opening, when doors were closing, and clearly announced which stops or floors the train or elevator was currently at and where they were heading next. Television broadcasts of the news often feature a sign language interpreter in comparison to the US’s option to sometimes provide closed captioning on their programs. In London, it’s even becoming more popular to add captions on digitized screens to live performances like plays so that not only the hearing impaired can enjoy the performances, but people with auditory processing issues or just someone who missed a line will be able to look up and read what they missed.

Overall, to me it seemed that there was an abundance of little differences between the countries when it comes to accessibility and sustainability, but many of these little differences can change someone’s life or set a chain of events into action. London has more historical buildings than any major American city with much less space to work with considering the size of the land, but renovations still occur, creating more accessibility options even when they didn’t exist in the older buildings, speakers, ramps, elevators, and translations to accommodate many different citizens’ needs. Though this often happens in the states, the consistency is lackluster, often causing companies to add accessibility features only when someone with those accommodation needs requires the changes be made or if they have to fulfill one of the few accessibility building laws. The same goes for sustainability being much less integrated in the states. At least in comparison of London to many major US cities, the focus on providing accessibility and sustainability to the citizens feels like a larger social priority, viewing it as necessary and the duty of corporations instead of viewing those needs as something that needs fulfilling by the individual, even making alternative food options for those with different dietary restrictions or allergies much more attainable than in many US cities as well.

Favorite tube line? Piccadilly.

One thing you wish you had time for? A day trip to Stonehenge or visiting the Tate Modern.

Musicals and plays you saw?

Romeo and Julie, The Great British Bakeoff Musical, The Book of Mormon, and Six