SUNY ESF is committed to becoming a plastic-free campus by 2025
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Sue Fassler, SUNY ESF’s Director of Sustainable Operations, wants students to “trash talk.”
As more products like recyclable plastics end up in the trash or the wrong bin, Fassler and ESF have hired students to stand by bins, cafes and at events to encourage people to sort their waste into the correct bins.
In 2020, ESF pledged to eliminate single-use plastics by 2025. It was the first college in New York state and the third in the United States to sign the pledge, which was created by the Post Landfill Action Network’s Break Free From Plastic initiative. Though the university may reach the goal a little later than anticipated, Fassler said ESF has implemented new initiatives to stay on track.
“We have the framework in place, we have the staff in place,” Fassler said. “If we can keep the same level of funding (and) if we keep the same level of staffing … there’s a good chance.”
Since implementing measures in line with the pledge, ESF has reduced its trash weight by 34% and increased the amount recycled by 46%. Each month, Fassler and a group of students weigh, open and sort trash bags from every building on campus, looking for high rates of contamination or incorrectly-placed waste materials.
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The college has also made policy changes to further reduce single-use plastics on campus.
ESF’s “Green Purchasing Guide,” which lists products that meet ESF and New York state’s “green purchasing” criteria, like reusability and compostability, directs campus members in purchasing products that fit college and state environmental standards.
“Looking at all these specifications, they are very technical and detailed, and we can’t expect all campus purchasers to take the time to research,” said Delaney Demro, ESF’s sustainability outreach and engagement manager. “People can find a more sustainable version of the products that they already use.”
If someone is seeking a type of product not yet on the list, Demro and her team will research to find the most sustainable version possible, she said. Students’ participation and enthusiasm in the effort reinforces its ability to help limit plastics purchased on campus, said Demro, who received her masters degree in Environmental Science and Coupled Natural and Human Systems from ESF.
Demro and her team update the guide four times a year to keep up with new requests, Fassler said.
Silas Cochran, president of the ESF Mighty Oak Student Association, said he wants to encourage student organizations to use the purchasing guide, especially while planning for the college’s December Soiree graduation reception.
The college is continuing to implement more programs and systems to reach its 2025 deadline, Fassler said. But she said plastic items like snack bags, pre-packaged foods and Starbucks waste from Syracuse University still frequently show up on campus.
The pandemic has also stunted campus sustainability goals, Cochran and Fassler both said. The college was experimenting with recyclable gloves for laboratory use, but delayed the project in 2021, Fassler said. She said the prototype gloves recently restarted testing and are currently with the Operations team.
Still, Fassler said she’s proud of the ongoing work toward the college’s goals.
“We are making very, very good progress, and the campus has been receptive,” Fassler said.
