In an effort for the Wheaton community to become more environmentally conscious, Emerson dining hall will be selling reusable to-go containers in collaboration with AfterTaste. The containers will be sold during Friday Farmer’s Markets in Balfour from 11-2 p.m. and Thursdays from 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Containers will cost $3 and are completely BPA free according to Sara Mitsinikos ’15. They will be sold for the month of April, and then once again when the semester starts in the fall. If students have a purchased a to-go container they will be able to drop off their dirty one in exchange for a clean one in any of the dining halls. There is currently no system set in place for a pick-up/drop-off area.
To reduce the use of disposable boats and plates, dining services purchased these containers a couple of years ago, but they were unsuccessful in creating a presence on campus. Dining services hopes that with the changes to the facilities and the discount of 50 cents for the containers, there will be more interest expressed by the student body.
Along with Wheaton, Emerson College and Williams College both participate in the effort to reduce waste and promote greener living by using reusable to-go containers. One student, who wished to remain anonymous said, “I believe that in order for this program to work, the audience will have to expand outside of those already interested in environmental issues.”
Regarding the impact of this initiative on the Wheaton community, Mitsinikos said, “I hope that this will raise awareness on the Wheaton community about how much waste is generated with the use of disposable items and instills values of environmental stewardship through reducing, reusing, recycling and repurposing.”