The phrase “number one dining” is often thrown around at UMass Amherst. But with all that great food comes great waste.
The university has been ranked one of the top “green” colleges by Princeton Review for the past four years. The school emphasizes composting — providing compostable utensils, napkins and cups in the dining areas.
But how effective is it?
At Franklin Dining Commons, backpacked students wait in line for lunch, eager for food or a cup of coffee, and head out. With tight class schedules, the “grab-and-go” option is ideal.
Instead of the ceramic reusable materials found in the dining commons, the grab-and-go program provides compostable single-use materials, allowing students to take the meal and drink with them.
But students Gabi Grondalski and Kyle Godinho are just few of the many students confused about where to throw out their trash.
“It’s not something that I know much about, especially on campus,” Grondalski said.
“They just say, ‘compost,’ and it’s like, OK — but nothing else,” Godinho added.
UMass got a high rating from AASHE STARS, an association that rates sustainability in higher education. Though the university scored well, the “sustainability literacy” portion earned just one out of four possible points.
Senior Jackie Dias, who studies environmental science and natural resource conservation, said the problem goes beyond understanding how to compost.
“People come onto campus thinking they know things already, and they don’t need to learn more about it,” Dias said. “Kids come in, and they don’t know how to recycle.”
Knowing what goes into each bin can be confusing.
In dining areas, there are signs showing which items — like plates or candy wrappers — should go in the compost, recycling or trash bins.
Alexia Perides works on environmental issues for the UMass student government.
“It's ridiculously hard to get people to read signs,” she said.
But Perides is trying to educate students on which trash goes where. She is working on an online sustainability quiz to pilot in the spring for new students, and for all incoming students in the fall.
Part of the disposal confusion may be because compost bins are missing in some places on campus, such as student dorms.
“The residence halls are the next thing to tackle,” Perides said. “I often see people eat ‘to-go’ right near where they got it, but I also see people take ‘to-go’ home.”
Perides is also trying to find a way to decrease single-use items.
“[We’re] making sure that reusable mugs are accessible for people,” Perides said, adding that she's working on discounting such items at the university store.
To decrease waste, UMass recently took away compostable cups from the dining halls, with little warning. Students were angry with the decision, and the cups were quickly brought back.
Kathy Wicks, the director of sustainability at UMass, acknowledged the school should have done a better job communicating the change.
“Having a coordinated campus-wide plan about how that can happen, setting some goals, involving more students, and providing more information before a change happens... will be our best way moving forward,” she said.
Wicks will soon get to test this new strategy for communication, as UMass still plans on getting rid of the cups.
The university generates 7,500 tons of waste per year — and this small change could have at least a small impact.
