SlothNation
West Chester University
WEST CHESTER PROBLEMS
1. The school’s dining hall, Lawrence, is a huge source of waste. With over
15,000 people attending the school, the college cafeteria is constantly
bustling with hungry students. Unfortunately, the trashcans on our campus
are also busting…with food and paper napkins.
2. Although “Hydrate to Dominate” is a GREAT motto to have, at the
recommended 8 glasses of water a day, and over 15,000 students, that adds
up to 60,000 plastic water bottles a day to keep our community happy,
healthy, and hydrated. Obviously, not every student on campus (mis)uses
plastic water bottles, but with the easy access and convenience, it is hard to
resist. Plastic water bottles are sold at every convenience store and market
on campus, which means massive amounts are used and thrown out each
day.
BETTER SOLUTIONS
1. At California State University, students are required to sample an entrée
before taking an entire portion, and students are limited to a single entrée
per meal. The campus cafeterias collect compostable food waste, which
saved 55.5 TONS in 2007, how great is that!? The University of Washington
has also made efforts to minimize their waste by only using compostable
napkins.
2. The College of Wooster in Ohio has made a commitment to no longer sell
plastic water bottles for students to purchase. The committee heading the
project spread awareness campus-wide of just how much plastic water bottle
usage and waste was occurring. They also created a plan to instill 32 water
refill stations across campus, which allow students to still have filtered water
easily accessible.
SEE NEXT PAGE FOR PLAN
West Chester University – Zero Waste Solution
Problem 1
Step 1. Instead of having students dump their food at the end of meals, place
compost bins around the dining area, and contribute the compost to local farms and
gardening organizations.
Step 2. Begin a campaign to raise awareness and money for compostable napkins,
that way at the end of meals students can dump all food and napkin waste in a
convenient single location.
Step 3. To conserve the amount of food excess each student generates (not to
mention saving energy in washing dishes), there would be a new mandate as each
student swiped into the dining hall. Each consumer would receive a set of utensils, a
single plate, a cup, and a bowl. This would save the amount of food each person
took from the dining hall and how many dishes need to be washed.
Problem 2
Step 1. Spread awareness around campus by starting a campaign to show students
the amount of plastic water bottles being wasted each day.
Step 2. Get an agreement to remove plastic water bottles from being sold in places
where food is distributed around campus.
Step 3. Instill dozens of filtered water stations around campus, making clean water
accessible and convenient.
Step 4. In the mean time – put more recycling bins around campus!! Generally,
students do not even know where they are located and end up tossing the plastic in
with the garbage.
Link to Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjpcmJDhXIc&fe
ature=youtu.be