Ecopledge takes on McElroy

Despite the snow that has all of Boston swathed in white, the joint efforts of Ecopledge and the Boston College Dining Services have the BC campus looking just a little bit greener.

In an attempt to make campus more eco-friendly, the two organizations worked together to initiate a new system for sorting waste and trash in Carney's Dining Hall for the new year.

"The key focus of the system in the first place is to reduce," said Merril Putnam, Ecopledge member and A&S '08.

The system requires students to separate their trash, food waste, plates, silverware, and plastic containers in an assembly line-style setup. One goal of the sorting process is to reduce the volume of food waste leaving the dining hall. Separating the plastic containers is one way to do so, although the containers cannot be recycled because they have food waste on them.

"Ideally, there should be no stack of plastics in the dining hall because, as a to-go container, they're meant to serve students who wish to take their meal out of the dining hall," said Peggy Fox, Ecopledge member and A&S '08. "We want students to make the effort to ask for a plate when being served their food."

While Ecopledge members are supporting the dining hall in an effort to switch to compostable containers, a change that may be far in the future, the goal of the system right now is to raise awareness about the sheer amount of waste that comes from the dining hall.

"If you can't see where your waste is going, it's hard to see the impact you're having," Putnam said. "It would be great if students could make a connection between the waste they're making and the greater global context."

Putnam is the Ecopledge member largely responsible for the change and has volunteered 80 hours in the past two weeks to aid students at the stations, taking time off from her paid job to do so. She and Fox are members of the Campaigns Committee of Ecopledge. The students initially met with Dining Services in the beginning of the year to discuss removing bottled water from Hillside Cafe for a week. When such a feat proved to be impossible, Putnam shifted her focus to addressing the waste issue in Carney's.

One additional way that Ecopledge members are looking to address waste is by bringing composting to Carney's. Currently, Corcoran Commons composts its food waste, but Carney's has been unable to do so because of space issues.

"We are not able to compost the food right now, but BC Dining is looking at ways to do this, and if students show that they are able to get into the habit of separating out their food waste, they may be able to compost soon," Fox said.

Composting is a process through which food is allowed to degrade into organic matter that can then be used as fertilizer. It saves space in landfills and gives uneaten food a second use as powerful fertilizer. Currently, workers behind the scenes in Corcoran Commons divide out the recyclables, food waste, and trash from the revolving tray receptacle to facilitate composting, but no such system is in place in Carney's, so students need to take on that responsibility themselves.

Composting is not the only way that BC Dining Services have tried to make the dining efforts more eco-friendly. Last year, a program was started in Stuart Dining Hall on Newton Campus that ended up lessening the use of plastic containers by 20 percent and increasing the number of students who took advantage of discounts by bringing in their own water bottles and to-go coffee cups by 50 percent.

"We took what we learned at Stuart Dining Hall and improved it because we have more space at McElroy to separate more items," said Megan O'Neill, associate director of restaurant operations in BC Dining. "It really requires the customer's help and involvement, as last year, when we tried a smaller scale setup, we lost over 2,000 pieces of silverware in two months because customers were throwing them away."

Ecopledge members who have volunteered their time to stand by the bins and talk students through the process feel that the reactions they have received have been mostly positive.

"I would say 90 percent of people care. Most people seem really sincere," Putnam said.

However, some students in the dining hall have had mixed reactions to the new system."It's a hassle, but in a way it's worth it. It can be a difficult process with the long lines and general chaos; I think [students] just have to get used to it," said Rosemary Bailey, A&S '11. Others believe that the system can be improved.

"I applaud the sensitivity to environmental concerns that McElroy is showing. I am disappointed, however, in the organization for the system, and I don't feel like it's student-friendly," said Courtney McKee, A&S '11. "Some more container-specific receptacles and maybe some color coding could contribute to the success of the program and make a longer lasting impact on students."

Ecopledge members are already working on getting paper recycling bins and slimmer trash bins for food waste. For future campaigns, the club hopes to take on bottled water use on campus and continue its efforts to begin composting in Carney's. But the members emphasized how student body involvement is an important part of any and all environmentally friendly changes.

"[BC] is thinking of making Hillside Cafe a 'green cafe' but needs students to show they're interested to make these changes happen," Fox said. "Supporting the new sorting effort at McElroy is one way to do this."

All BC dining halls already attempt to use produce and meats from local farmers and encourage recycling in order to become more "green," but they are considering turning Hillside Cafe into a small-scale experiment just how green dining can be. This would include use of the previously mentioned compostable containers, a possible switch to reusable cups, and the option of choosing tap water over a bottled alternative.