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Disrupting Disposables The Drive to Banish Single-Use Plastics
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niversities, sports There is momentum, plastics from the waste arenas, restaurants system and replacing but it is challenging. them with Earth-friendly and other businesses are taking up the alternatives will eventu~Eric DesRoberts call to “disrupt disposables” ally pay off, experts say, as part of a global effort but it will be a long and to dramatically cut down on single-use slow process. However, momentum is plastics. The environmental problems building, spurred by consumer demand caused by those ubiquitous throwaways and a growing number of enterprising have become a mainstay of news reporting, businesses, organizations and academic and studies on how best to reduce them institutions. through public policy abound. A recent At Penn State University, agriculCanadian research paper in the Marine ture and biological engineering professor Pollution Bulletin explores strategies such Judd Michael is working with sports as bans, tax levies and education. Experts facilities to lower both plastics use and agree that it is not just a litter problem, but littering; the initiative is working so well a sobering matter of human and planetary that their approaches may be taken up by health. other schools across the nation. “One of As these plastics wind up in the oceans my projects is with NASCAR’s Pocono and landfills worldwide, they can languish Raceway [also in Pennsylvania], where the virtually intact for up to 1,000 years, entanowners of the track wanted to continue gling and choking marine mammals and to make the venue more green,” he says. terrestrial wildlife. Or, they break into toxic “There is zero waste in suites for that microplastics that enter drinking water track, and they are initiating a compresupplies, eventually ingested by humans. hensive recycling program. They try to get Because plastics are made from petroleum, tailgaters to participate, as well.” their production also adds to greenhouse On campus, Penn State provides gases that contribute to the climate crisis. bags of different colors for tailgaters with Two-pronged efforts instructions for fans to separate recyclables by businesses and individuals to divert in one bag and everything else in the other.
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A lot of local folks have really changed their perspective. We see a lot more customers coming in and saying they appreciate that we are using compostable cups and compostable straws. ~Dana Honn That program was exported to Pocono. Michael is also working with PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay, to develop alternative packaging. The University of Florida’s efforts began in 2012, when the campus freed itself from plastic bags, getting buy-in from Chick-Fil-A, Subway and other eateries that agreed to switch to alternatives. “We’ve been Styrofoam-free since 2012, as well,” says Allison Vitt, outreach and communications coordinator for the UF Office of Sustainability. “At the end of 2018, we officially switched over all to compostable straws.” They feel like plastic, but are certified compostable, she says. UF has engaged with Cupanion, a company that developed an app that has a “fill it forward” program, distributing money to clean-water charities worldwide. “Since 2016, we’ve been working with them to reduce single-use plastic, rewarding people for reusing their bottles,” says Vitt. Interested students, staff and faculty are given a barcode sticker to scan on their phone each time a bottle is refilled at a campus retailer or water fountain. The app provides points that can be redeemed for monthly prizes. “It also shows you your personal footprint—your cumulative impact, like how many single-use bottles you have avoided,” she says. On a smaller scale, Dana Honn and his wife Christina went completely plastic-free upon opening Café Carmo, in New Orleans. “We only had about a dozen seats, but determined to have as little waste as possible. Every year, we were able to build upon it,” he says. “A lot of local folks have really changed their perspective. We see a lot more customers coming in and saying they appreciate that we are using compostable cups and compostable straws.” It’s a slow, but steady effort, says Eric
