To make a plastic cup, oil is extracted from the ground, fuel is used to deliver it to a
refinery and processing plant, land is disturbed or perhaps destroyed in the process of
mining coal to generate the electricity and thermal heat needed for the manufacturing and
packaging of the product, more fuel is used to distribute it to the users, and after a few
minutes of use, it is deposited in a landfill forever. All this so we have a drink in a
convenient way or to avoid washing dishes to save a few minutes of time after a party.
So what is the big deal? How much harm will using one small disposable plastic cup can
do? Well, very hour, 24 million plastic beverage bottles, 13 million aluminum cans, 1.6
million disposable hot-beverage paper cups, 1.2 million brown grocery bags, and 43
million plastic bags are used in the United States. So this really is a big deal!
At our own University’s student Unions, close to 10 million pieces of disposable
dishware such as cups, lids, Java jacket, utensils, and plates are used each year.
Over 60 million sheets of office paper are used every hour and over 100 million trees are
cut down in the U.S. to make paper for junk mail each year. And think about the number
of newspapers printed in this age of electronic communications.
Consider packaging of the products we purchase. Let’s take an office chair. No doubt it
is an essential tool in our workplace and there is no question that we need it and must
have it. But have you purchased one recently? Have you noticed how much cardboard,
metal, and plastic is used in its packaging for delivery?
If our policies and decisions reflect our values, and if protecting the planet and our
environment is truly one of those values, some drastic changes will have to be made in
the ways we do things; and this is an area where our universities can play a major and
direct role.
The higher education employs close to 3 million faculty and staff and spends over $200
billion on goods and services (more than GDP of all nations except 20 countries). This
purchasing power gives the U.S. colleges and universities a huge economic clout at home
and abroad. Promoting and demanding energy efficiency, environmental accountability,
and waste prevention by these schools will result in huge changes in the way the world’s
natural resources are extracted and used to manufacture, distribute, utilize, and recycle
the goods we need.
We truly have the power to demand lower prices for green cleaning products, for delivery
of office chairs wrapped in reusable blankets, and to establish internal guidelines and
policies to minimize mindless use of paper in our offices and classrooms.
Besides, as educational institutions, do we not have the responsibility to be good role
models for the millions of students we educate? This is a mission for the We Conserve
initiative!