It’s Time for the Paper Plates to go!
Among its many values and commitments, Grace Church School has subscribed to the idea of environmental responsibility. The school, student body and administration have largely followed up on this promise.
Most teachers use Turnitin or Google Drive for assignments to save on paper. The math and science departments use digital textbooks in place of “textbook” ones. The bathrooms are equipped with high efficiency hand dryers. The high school campus has low-energy HVAC and lighting systems and makes full use of the available natural lighting. Many students have even embarked on pro-environmental campaigns.
However, there remains a glaring point of failure in our mission to aid the environment: disposable kitchenware. In the lunchroom, aside their reusable counterparts, sit paper plates and cups and plastic utensils. This must end.
The primary reason is obviously the environmental aspect. Disposable items are hugely wasteful, sapping our resources and filling landfills. According to Earth911.com, tableware cannot be recycled as soiled paper is beyond our current capabilities to use and wax-treated paper plates and cups are uneconomical. This wastage runs counter to a very core value of the GCS community.
Additionally there is the allure of disposable. Disposable plates and utensils are more convenient. While I am no eco-warrior, I do my best to be environmentally responsible. In the case of dining this means using reusable cups, dishes and utensils offered in the lunchroom. However, simultaneously available disposables are much more convenient, as I can just drop the whole thing into the trash, rather than go to several stations to drop off my plate and utensils. Human nature naturally prefers the easier path. The student body will continue to use disposable purely because of its convenience. I am confident that most prefer to use reusable tableware, and would use reusable tableware, save for the availability of disposable.
A second minor reason is the mess. Paper plates and cups have no value, they don’t feel important. Because of this many students seem to have few qualms about leaving them everywhere. This is particularly critical with oatmeal in coffee cups. Since non-disposable cups have a longer-term value (they will be rescued) it is a much rarer sight to see them scattered about the building.
A third reason to get rid of disposable tableware is the cost. Reusable tableware has an upfront cost, while disposable tableware has a long-term cost. A barrier to switching from disposable to reusable for many is this upfront cost. The school has already paid the upfront costs of purchasing reusable, yet is continuing to pay the long-term costs of disposable.
For all these reasons and more, disposable tableware should not see the light of our lunchroom. Grace Church School has done great things in its quest to be more environmentally friendly. Let’s advance that goal one step further.