This content was published: June 12, 2018. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Dining Services is going “green” with new eco-to-go containers and 100% recycled serviceware!
Posted by joe.culhane
Hot off the presses! PCC is getting ready to kick off it’s new eco-to-go containers in the Sylvania cafeteria and Dining Services will be providing 100% recycled serviceware in all catering to further improve our sustainable pursuits at the college.
The eco-to-go program is pretty straight forward, when you get to the cafeteria you:
1) Ask for an eco-to-go container,
2) get your food,
3) pay the $3 REFUNDABLE deposit when you check-out and
4) return the container when you are finished and receive a token to use next time or get your deposit refunded.
Pretty simple, huh?!? We’re really excited about these new programs, they are made possible because of grants awarded this past year through the student funded Eco Social Justice Grant (ESJ Grant).
It is really incredible to consider that over these past ten years, over one million dollars in sustainability and social justice initiatives have been funded and supported by the students of Portland Community College. There has been a lot of work here to be more and more environmentally sustainable and we have our students to thank for a great deal of what has been accomplished. With the Spring Term and academic year winding down this week, let us give a big shout out to all the students of PCC for they have all contributed to making this institution a national and globally recognized for its sustainability efforts!
While the eco-to-go pilot is something we’re super pumped about, there is the other exciting sustainable program we’re stoked to launch as well. The recycled durable serviceware for all future catering at the college! These products are all produced by Preserve, this company is right here the US and their mission is to “help reduce the harm caused by the industrial age by demonstrating that consumer products can be both fabulous and lighter on the earth.” We’re glad to be working with them!
These programs are being rolled out through a partnership between PCC Dining Services and our Sustainability Department. Check out Dining Services sustainable serviceware options to learn more about what other great ways we at PCC are continuing to go green! This shift away from compostable serviceware has been an intentional action here at PCC as we see the importance of doing all we can to remove everything we can from going into the waste stream. Compostable products in theory are a great alternative to using fossil fuel created plastic serviceware though there just isn’t a good enough infrastructure in place to currently send those to our municipal composting facilities. And while they do breakdown faster than their plastic counterparts, we continue to learn that this process still takes a good long while as the lack of oxygenation available in landfills significantly slows down the composting process. Enough about the technicalities though, we are just pleased as punch to be diverting more waste from going to that mythical “away” place!