By Laura Troyer
Student Government senators at the University of South Florida have voted to ban Activity and Service (A&S)-funded student organizations from using student fee money to buy Styrofoam and single-use plastic cups, plates and straws
The new rule, passed in the fall proviso bill, applies to all three USF campuses.
The change, student leaders say, is intended to support USF’s sustainability goals while keeping costs manageable for student organizations.
Hunter Rabinowitz, Senate Ethics Chair and vice chair of the Activity and Service Fee Recommendation Committee on the Tampa Campus, said the ban targets only a limited set of items to minimize financial strain.
“It was only cups, plates and straws, and there are alternatives at the same price in paper,” he said.
The ban came after multiple semesters of student advocacy. Arjun Manohar, the Tampa campus Senate Relations Committee Chair who introduced the amendment, said he has worked alongside close friends on the effort since 2023.
The original proposal sought to ban Styrofoam and single-use plastics altogether but was delayed over concerns of cost and accessibility. The partial ban passed this fall after environmental student groups, including USF’s Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and GenCLEO, presented the Senate a comparison of costs between plastic and paper items.
“We looked at it, and we saw that there were alternatives in paper that were the same price if not cheaper. So, that changed a lot of senators’ minds and led them to vote to do this,” Rabinowitz said.
Adey Abebe, a St. Petersburg senator who serves on the Ethics Committee, said the initial discussions reflected the differences between campuses. She added that senators from the St. Petersburg campus supported the measure because the change aligned with campus culture.
“St. Pete, we’re the green campus,” she said. “Our whole thing is having to be more environmentally aware. So, obviously, when it comes down to not using single-use plastics and polystyrene, we already don’t do that.”
The rule applies only to A&S-funded purchases. Student organizations can still use other funding sources to buy plastic or Styrofoam if they choose.
Rabinowitz explained that the policy will be enforced through existing financial checks and will not add extra hurdles for student organizations. He said that financial enforcements will continue to be done through Student Business Services and audits, as they have in the past.
Some student leaders said they expect a learning curve for clubs adjusting to the change. Brianna Gutierrez, Campus Council Chair and president of GenCLEO St. Petersburg, said she supports the policy but knows many students and student organization leaders may still be unfamiliar with it.
“Since I haven’t really heard anyone talking about it, it’s either no one really knows about it or they’re just confused about it,” she said. “I would definitely say that the student government is working on trying to make this an easy transition.”
Ashley Trochez, president of USF St. Petersburg’s Baptist Collegiate Ministry, a student organization on campus, said she hadn’t heard about the rule before being asked.
“But honestly, I don’t think it will affect organizations that much just because I think our campus is already very green,” she said, mirroring Gutierrez’s sentiment.
Gutierrez said her organization has been implementing these sustainable practices for a while now, claiming that a potential shift in budgeting is worth it.
“For GenCLEO, last semester we only used aluminum cups, which is already infinitely better ‘cause you can just recycle them,” she said. “Even though it might be pricier, it’s just benefiting a larger whole.”
Manohar said student response so far has been positive, adding the goal was not to make things harder for organizations, but to make them more aware of how they may be impacting the environment and campus culture.
“A lot of people realize that this is a simple change that can make a big difference, especially when you think about how many events happen on campus every semester,” he said. “This is about setting a standard for what sustainability looks like at USF.”
This is not all USF’s Student Government has in mind, however. As for what comes next, Rabinowitz said senators are exploring additional sustainability initiatives.
