By eliminating disposable lids, straws and clamshells, The Reef significantly cut down its single-use plastic consumption. The next step, says Louis Duran, general manager of Sodexo, is reducing the plastic consumption of the Starbucks’ on campus. Sav Gibbs | The Crow’s Nest
By Kate Rickman
Sustainability has always been a priority at USF St. Petersburg, but the campus has surpassed a new milestone.
The Reef cut out a large amount of its single-use plastics in order to lower its carbon footprint. Plastic clamshells, disposable lids and straws are no longer available at the dining hall.
Instead, students will find reusable green to-go containers and cups with lids for $5 with a meal plan.
“Sustainability is the responsibility of all of us,” said Louis Duran, general manager of Sodexo. “We also understand you lead busy lives, so The Reef does a lot of the work for you behind the scenes.”
Students can bring the to-go containers back to the dinning hall to be washed and replaced by clean ones, free of charge.
This isn’t the first eco-friendly effort Sodexo has made in The Reef.
By having biodegradable disposables and napkins made from recycled material, Sodexo has made the university a much greener place to dine in. It also uses a sustainable dishwashing system and works with an oil recycling company to convert used oil to biofuel, as well as buying local seasonal produce to avoid transport pollution.
Sodexo’s efforts in the past years have earned it several sustainability distinctions, such as the RobecoSAM Sustainability Award Gold Class 2018. Sodexo was also named the top-rated company in its sector on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the 13th year.
Duran pushes for a new sustainability effort each year. He plans to continue this push by working in the Starbucks’ on campus to reduce their single-use plastic consumption.
Eventually, he would also like to get rid of plastic silverware, but dishes have been “disappearing at an alarming rate,” while the cost of replacing them is high.
The best way to further sustainability efforts is to make sure students are educated on them.
Duran worked closely with Emma Jacobs, a sophomore environmental science and policy major, who is now the Vice Chair of the Student Green Energy Fund for the 2018-2019 school year.
Duran said Jacobs was “the initiator” of the latest sustainability effort, and she plans to be more involved with obtaining a greener campus this year than the last.
“I really became aware of the problem, I wanted to utilize my power as a student,” Jacobs said. “When you see those Starbucks cups, straws and lids on our campus beach, that’s when you know it’s actually serious and we are the problem.”
Jacobs suggests investing in a reusable coffee mug and reusable containers, such as the ones available for purchase in The Reef or your own Tupperware containers in order to be more sustainable on campus.
She also suggests using reusable grocery bags, recycling, picking up trash, and buying sustainable products, such as notebooks made from recycled material.
“Make yourself more aware, educate yourself on the problems. Think about the repercussions that each choice has,” Jacobs said.
