When was the last time in modern history that a college student felt any sense of guilt for snatching utensils from a dining hall?
Like, maybe never.
So now that the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor has decided to ban plastic in the student dining halls, it has a fresh problem to cope with—policing the theft of the new stainless steel takeout containers.
As the original TV princess of darkness, Saturday Night Live’s Roseanne Roseannadanna famously proclaimed, “It just goes to show ya, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.”
But not to worry, says the student environmentalist who was behind the successful anti-plastic campaign.
The steel containers will each have a QR code etched into them.
Students who get takeout from the dining halls will now have to have their food containers scanned as they leave the dining halls.
Senior Linnea Goh, who led the ban-plastic effort, said that to ensure the reusable items are returned, the college uses an app checkout system that requires diners to scan and return items with a QR code.
“I would really love to see other schools take it on, because imagine the impact that we could have if we all were implementing programs like this,” Goh said. “It would keep so much disposable plastics out of the ocean.”
Goh estimated the system will keep 50,000 pieces of plastic out of the waste stream every year.
She led the effort as part of her senior project on a sustainability action plan for the college.
The school announced this week it is the first campus in the country to use reusable stainless steel forks and spoons to replace disposable cutlery and the first to fully eliminate disposable plastic food containers in all its dining halls.
The school’s “break free from plastic pledge” is behind the ban.
Apparently, dining hall theft is a major and expensive problem in campuses nationwide.
At Princeton University, for instance, a report just released by the student paper underscores the scope of the problem.
In the past two years, the Princeton has spent over $73,000 replacing plates, bowls, and silverware in dining halls, according to data obtained by The Daily Princetonian.
University data shows that one dining hall alone has spent nearly $44,000 in the past two years replacing 4,440 plates and 2,240 bowls, the paper reported.
The remaining $29,000 comes from replacing 20,400 forks, 5,460 knives, 5,580 soup spoons, and 2,520 teaspoons.
The plastic-reduction efforts are unlikely to impact ocean plastic levels globally, mostly because the United States accounts for a minuscule fraction of plastic waste entering the oceans.
More than 80 percent of ocean plastic originates in Asia, with the Philippines, India, Malaysia, China, and Indonesia being the top polluters.
A lot of the people we are inviting to Maine eat with their hands anyway .
Who needs utensils ? Be Progressive . Think Globally !
A lot of the people we are inviting to Maine eat with their right hand, they use their left hand for something else.
And the dangerous ones are most often ambidextrous .
But where is all the steel going?
Elon is making bullets from the steel to sell to Ukrainians .
What these idiots don’t understand is that plates and bowls break…
It’s not even that, once they chip or crack you have to throw them out because otherwise bacteria will get into them and get people sick. This is public health 101.
And as to silverware, it gets bent and otherwise damaged a lot more than you might think.
And the plastic entering the oceans is coming out of rivers in Africa and Asia — not America…
If it costs $29,000 a year to replace lost stainless steel ware, I wonder how much per year it costs to install and maintain equipment to apply QR codes, scan them, etc. when you amortize the costs of equipment over its life span. Plus someone has to manage the system even if it’s part time.
I don’t get it .
Are ALL these kids throwing their plastic forks and spoons into the ocean ?
How do they wind up choking the fish in the rivers and streams ?
Or …Why are students not returning utensils that they use for their “ take out “ dinners ?
The solution would appear to be close the College of the Atlantic because it’s too close to the ocean ……and ….to stop the “ take out “ food services from the dining halls .
If they are hungry let them eat in the cafeteria . Duh .
I am old enough to remember when “ plastics “ were the answer for the future .….NOW today they are going to knock the earth off its orbit and be the end of mankind . Plastic straws are the bane of many peoples existence .
I miss my single use plastic grocery bags . They were great recycled for cleaning the litter box.
We need to save ourselves from ourselves .
If QR Codes are the answer to these environmental catastrophes there is NO hope of saving the planet
How about in addition to having to buy their books , the students have to buy a plate, bowl , cup , and spoon before classes begin . If they lose them they are shit outta luck . Until the next year ,
The government can never solve a problem, only create new, more expensive ones.
Goes to show how little students care about the environment.