Maybe we do not consider it, but we as students do contribute a lot of waste during meal times. How many times a day do we go to the cafeteria and purchase a hot beverage and later toss the paper cup into the garbage? Why do we always end up buying snacks in packaging that we have to throw away because it is not recyclable? Selkirk College has been great at providing recycling bins in every accessible location for us, so we should continue to make use of these needed necessities for conserving our resources and respecting our planet.

Here are a few of my own personal ideas on how to reduce waste even more as a college student when it comes to eating meals and snacks here, by going back to the ideas of reduce, reuse and recycle.

Use a travel mug for your hot beverages. This will save a lot of paper cups from getting thrown away. The cafeteria sells its own travel mugs and gives a discount for those who use them. You could also reuse your paper cup more than once instead of directly throwing it away. And buy bottled drinks that can be recycled or reused again.

When eating at the cafeteria, order food to stay, rather than to go, because eating on real plates cuts down throwing away take-out containers. However, if properly washed out, the plastic salad containers can be used again and eventually recycled. I have definitely collected a few salad containers at my own home! Or try bringing your own containers for soup and salad in the cafeteria.

Consider using the metal cutlery provided in the cafeteria instead of the plastic ones. It may not seem like much, but little choices like this can make a difference on a large scale. If you absolutely must use plastic cutlery, think about bringing it home and reusing it again, instead of adding it to our landfills.

Food items that come pre-packaged such as chips, granola bars, yogurt, and sandwiches bought from the cafeteria or brought from home, can also contribute to more garbage once you throw the wrappings away. Consider substituting these packages by putting bulk granola, yogurt, chips, and sandwiches into reusable containers, or by bringing unwrapped fruit instead.

By doing these things and thinking about our impact on the planet, we can change our bad habits and become more conscious of the world we live in.