To many of campus dining and on-campus restaurants, the matter of whether a student is dining in or taking food to go is no matter. Interactions are based around fast service and accessibility. Many students dine in, especially at locations like Kleiner and Fuel. A dine-in option at every location would result in less waste of natural resources.

The sandwich shop at Kleiner and Subway both wrap every sandwich. Subway often puts the wrapped up sandwich in another bag. Bleecker Street at Fuel uses baby carrots in plastic packaging and plastic dressing cups for all customers. Fuel’s Freshens also puts a plastic lid on every rice bowl. All of the utensils and cups at Fuel are single-use. For the most part, this is true at Kleiner as well, with exception to Center Plate, which can offer reusable options. Another venue, Jump, hands out plastic wrapped fortune cookies with every order. Zoca at the Kirkhof Center uses a box and aluminum foil for burritos, as does Grille Works with burgers. Argo Tea has mostly plastic cups.

Why aren’t dine-in options presented? They require more time. An initial investment of reusable ware would be significantly more expensive than that of an equal amount of disposable ware. Dine-in ware would also require washing. Dishwashing means job creation. More jobs means more employees the university has to pay. More dishes to wash will also increase water usage. Increased water usage again requires more money and more use of a resource.

However, this reusable dishware can be a one-time purchase. Eventually, reusable dishes will pay for themselves by saving so much money over time as compared to countless disposable ware being used and tossed and bought again. Despite not requiring water, disposable ware uses more natural resources and then is just thrown out after use.

Being compostable is fantastic, but why let something rot that never had to be used in the first place? As a sustainable university, we need to place reusability over compostability. The disposable culture should be something we are trying to reduce.

Yes, sometimes students will order food for take out. However, a choice should be presented to us. We should be given the opportunity to reduce our waste especially when it is completely unnecessary. A sandwich should not be wrapped if it is about to be eaten at the same location it was bought. This is what plates are for. We also don’t need a lid to cover our rice on the one-minute walk to find a table.

Reusable utensils should be provided. Aluminum should be taken out of the equation completely, as well as any other non-recyclable packaging. Sustainability should be more accessible in campus dining and the restaurants we support on campus. Grand Valley State University should consider how environmentally conscious businesses are and how they comply to our standards.

Reusability is an important part of living a green life. If GVSU truly values being sustainable, we need to incorporate reusable plates, bowls, cups and utensils at all of our dining locations. We need to strive to reduce waste.