Reusable vs. disposable cup usage

To anyone who has read my blog over the past several months, it is obviously no secret that I consider myself to be a part of the Environmental Movement, so to speak. Last week, I posted my reaction to the removal of trays at D-hall, but since school has started back, I’ve been reminded of something that really bothered me last year, and continues to irk me this semester, as well. At the beginning of the fall semester each year, dining services issues large, reusable plastic mugs to every student who has purchased an on-campus meal plan. These mugs can be filled up at the soda fountains in any dining facility on campus. The idea is for students to actually use these mugs in place of the paper cups, plastic lids, and straws that are provided at the dining locations, however, I continually see students roaming around campus, sipping from these paper Coke cups. Now, don’t get me wrong, using these cups on an occasional basis is understandable, however, I know some people who use the paper cups every day of the week! Now, I’m sure some of you are thinking that I’m a crazy environmentalist at this point, but seriously, stop and think about that….some people go through at least 5 paper cups a week, then multiply that by the number of weeks in a semester, and that’s approximately 75 cups thrown away by one person in one semester! I’m sure I would be appalled if I knew how many cups are actually thrown away at JMU on a daily basis. I wonder if anyone else has contemplated starting some type of campus-wide initiative to promote using the mugs instead of wasting paper cups….I realize that some of the city’s trash is incinerated and converted to steam that heats/cools campus, but I’m quite certain that by cutting back on the number of cups that are thrown away, there will be a noticeable drop in the amount of trash produced on our campus daily, thus extending the lifespan of the H-burg/Rockingham landfill.

Thus my rant is finished....temporarily at least. LOL. Comments are encouraged and appreciated. :)