March 18 2002

Letters

Over The Edge Page 3

Plastic Just Doesn't Cut It

By Nicole Gagnon

| am writing this article in
response to notices recently
posted on the cutlery bins in
the cafeteria. These signs
were posted by cafeteria man-
agement, apparently in
response to complaints
regarding the gradual but obvi-
ous transition that has been
made since September,
away from "real" dispos-
able dishes in the UNBC
cafeteria. The signs state
that just over $5000 was
spent on the purchase of
new dishes (966 plates,
1800 glasses, 3132 forks,
2808 spoons, 972 knives,
and 180 mugs). Apparently
management does _ not
want to have to spend any
further money on real dish-
es, so they are not "offering
a choice" to patrons: real or
disposable.

| cannot help but ques-
tion whether we are being
offered a choice or whether
we are being strongly
encouraged to use dispos-
able dishes. At the current
time, it seems as though only a
few real plates are being made
available each day, and after
they are gone polystyrene
(Styrofoam) plates are being
substituted. Similarly, dispos-
able plastic cups are now
available in much higher quan-
tities than regular glasses are.
The cutlery has been cunning-
ly arranged for months now,
such that most people to dot
even realize that metal utensils
are available. Cafeteria man-
agement makes sure that the
plastic cutlery bins are always
full and visible, while the metal
cutlery is kept on the top level
of the kiosk (out of view for
many people), on the side far-
thest from the cashier. Thus,
assuming that we, as educat-
ed individuals, wish to make
responsible decisions, the
"choice" being offered to us by
the cafeteria is to either use
disposable dishes or to skip
lunch.

Obviously, this switch from
reusable to disposable dishes
has led to an increase in the
amount of garbage produced
at UNBC, as I'm sure the peo-
ple responsible for changing
the garbage bags on campus

have noticed. As we all know,
landfills do fill up, and new
ones must be found. Despite
what some may think, finding a
new landfill site is not easy or
cheap!

Besides taking up space in
already-full landfills, plastic
and polystyrene take up non-
renewable petroleum

resources, as well as large
amounts of energy and water

during the © manufacturing
process. The water and energy
required to wash reusable
dishes does not compare to
that required for the manufac-
ture and transportation of the
large quantities of disposable
dishes now used by UNBC.
Furthermore, environmental
concerns aside, nobody really
likes using flimsy plastic cups,
foam plates and bowls, or
plastic forks and_ knives.
Plastic just doesn't cut it!

On another note, | am
aware of the fact pointed out
on the little signs in the cafete-
ria, that the cafeteria has been
diverting vegetable scraps
from its waste stream for the
past few years. While this is an

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excellent way to reduce our
environmental impact, | do not
think that it is something that
can be used to excuse the
shameless switch to dispos-
able dishes. | say this because
the cafeteria management and
employees really. have little to
do with the fact that their waste
is composted. PG P!RG volun-
teers initiated the com-
posting program, and itis
these volunteers who lug
the heavy buckets uphill
form the cafeteria to the
compost site near the
student Residences. |
suppose |
thankful that cafeteria
management has_ not
switched to putting veg-
etable scraps in the
garbage instead of in the
compost buckets.

Now that | have had
my say, | would like to
emphasize that one of
the things | have always
liked the most about
UNBC is its environmen-
tal leadership. UNBC is a
place of learning where
motivated people make
progress is the way we do
things, the public looks to us
for examples of environmental
stewardship (among other
things). As a new and growing
institution, UNBC also sets an
example for other institutions
throughout the world. From the
start, UNBC refrained from
relying on disposable dishes in
the cafeteria and
Wintergarden. It really is a step
backwards to begin using dis-
posable dishes. | hope that
those people who make deci-
sions regarding the integrity of
our university soon realize the
significance of this retreat.

As an aside, | would like to
point out to some students that
one of the principal reasons for
the switch to disposable dish-

should be—

es is because of losses due
mainly to theft. Please don't
furnish your kitchen’ with
UNBC dishes! It is thoughtless
and unnecessary. Perhaps you
are not aware that you can buy
anything you need for pennies
at the local thrift stores. That's
right: you could have gone to
Value Village in September
and bought all the cutlery,
plates and cups that you'll ever
need for under $10. If this is
too much money, most thrift

stores downtown are willing to
help those in need.

If anyone else has been
feeling agitated by this shift to
disposable dishes, please to
not hesitate to voice your con-
cerns to cafeteria manage-
ment and/or to facilities. If we
passively allow ourselves to be
manipulated in this way,
nobody will know that we care,
and nothing will change.

UNBC Professor an
Example of Excellence

The University of Northern
British Columbia has many
excellent professors, among
whom could be numbered
Mark Shegelski. Dr. Shegelski
has worked in the physics
department at UNBC for 8
years and in that time he has
proven that he is a remarkable
teacher and scientist.

Dr. Shegelski has been
nominated for the Excellence
in Teaching Award every year
by his students and won the
award in the year 2000. The
students who have had Dr.
Shegelski as a professor have
been challenged to look at
many different options and
keep an open mind when
approaching problems. A way
in which he has challenged his

students is how he involves
them in his research. He is
quite proud of the fact that 17
of the 21 of the papers he has
published at UNBC to date
have had undergraduate stu-
dents as co-authors.

In the February 11th issue
of Over The Edge Mark
Shegelski was quoted in the
article "Reasons to Believe: A
Case for Creation". This quote
was improperly attributed to
Dr. Shegelski as he was not in
attendance at the debate in
question. The editorial staff of
Over The Edge would like to
extend an apology to Dr.
Shegelski for this mistake.

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