Students at Tufts describe themselves as social actors creating positive change in the world. We protest the school's treatment of janitors, decry incidents of racial profiling and remove trays from the dining halls. There is no denying these actions have produced real changes on significant issues for the Tufts community. But while we think of ourselves as socially and environmentally conscious, we tend to overlook the smaller issues that have a real impact on the world. For example, there is a collective lack of recognition about leaving the lights on in dorm rooms all day, while concurrently criticizing President Barack Obama for supporting big oil. Because of this we can claim the mantle of environmental sustainability without altering our daily routines in a way that would inconvenience us. We do not worry about the little things since we supposedly have taken care of the bigger problems.
Yet it is these every−day actions that can have the largest effect on the environment. An example of this can be found in the time−honored tradition of "trick−turning." Every day, 2,100 students file through Hodgdon Good−to−Go Take−Out, according to a Hodgdon manager. They pick up their food, put it in a plastic bag that will be thrown out as soon as they reach their destination and carry on with their day. I've estimated that some 40 percent of all students who go through Hodgdon take a plastic bag on their way out, unaware of how their actions affect the manager's decisions about ordering plastic bags.
The aggregation of students' choices to take a plastic bag adds up to the point that Hodgdon orders four crates of plastic bags, totaling 4,000 bags every week. This is not an inconsequential number. Plastic bags do not disintegrate. They do not compost. They never go away. Plastic bags will remain in landfills in perpetuity. On top of that, the number of plastic bags used in Hodgdon every week requires hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil to create — oil that smothers the Gulf Coast, devastates wetlands and tears at the very fabric of nature. We cannot assert our support for the environment when we simultaneously undertake actions that destroy it.
Other than convenience, there is no reason to use plastic bags at Hodgdon, and even this argument lacks merit. Paper bags are fully compostable, recyclable and have the same capacity as plastic bags. In fact, Hodgdon already has paper bags but stores them out of sight because students are accustomed to taking a plastic bag without a thought. Even better would be the use of reusable cloth bags. According to the manager of Hodgdon, these could be offered at a low cost to students who do not bring their own bag, and since they are reusable, this would only be a one−time cost for most students.
There is no reason for us to pass up the opportunity to remove 1,834 pounds of waste from landfills over the course of a school year simply because we cannot be bothered to reuse a cloth or paper bag.
There are two facets of this issue that need to be addressed. From the perspective of Hodgdon's management, there is a cost to change, and we need to provide them with the resources and support necessary to enact the changes. From the perspective of the consumer, we must be aware of how our choices have consequences. Just because we have been programmed to think we need a plastic bag does not mean we have to perpetuate the trend. The solution is right in front of us. Now all we need to do is act.
Today, Wednesday, April 27, there will be a rally on the Tisch Library roof and petitions to sign outside of the dining halls as well as the Mayer Campus Center. The focus of these actions will be the removal of plastic bags from Hodgdon and the installation of reusable cloth and paper bags in their place.
The next time you are waiting for your burrito at Hodgdon, stop and think. You have a choice to make — a choice between continuing the current paradigm of waste or turning toward the ideal of sustainable use. Make the right choice; be conscious of your actions and do not continue the wasteful practice of using plastic bags at Hodgdon.
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