Incentive programs need to be started at establishments on campus and surrounding Syracuse University to decrease the prevalence of single-use plastic.

Plastic is one of the largest factors affecting climate change. Greenhouse gases are emitted at every stage of plastic production. Plastic negatively affects the environment from its origins in fossil fuel extraction and transport to plastic refining and manufacturing to plastic’s ongoing impact once it reaches our oceans, waterways and landscapes.

Addressing these impacts will take collective action and policy.

“While sustainable individual consumption is a good start for those that can do so, ultimately it will not solve our ecological and social problems,” said Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, an assistant professor of Food Studies at SU’s Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.

Incentive programs instituted at establishments like coffee shops and restaurants near campus can encourage people to decrease their use of plastic. Shops can implement a punch system where customers are rewarded with a free drink after a few visits with a reusable cup. It’s an incentive that is easily adaptable to different forms of businesses and is an eco-friendly model to drive sales.

There are also ways to incentivize the elimination of plastic products completely. Although plastic cups have recycling properties, food and drink residue can make them hard to efficiently recycle.

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Plastic bags are another example of products that can be completely eliminated. Even at our own bookstore, plastic bags are used for all purchases. Stores on and off campus can adopt programs that incentivize a one-time purchase of a reusable bag instead.

Wegmans, for example, will stop the distribution of plastic bags come March 1, 2020, and instead provide paper bags for a five-cent charge or a purchase of reusable bags at checkout. In this regard, Wegmans estimates that it will eliminate 2 million pounds of plastic annually, taking 10 million pounds of plastic out of circulation by 2024. Incentive programs like these will not only drive revenues for businesses, but also change the way college students think about the environmental impacts of their actions.

“As individuals, we need to look at ways to make more structural and political changes as groups of citizens,” Minkoff-Zern said. “This can mean joining a student group that is organizing an advocacy event, pressuring larger institutions like schools and local governments to engage in more sustainable purchasing or working to elect a politician that supports stronger environmental regulations, among other actions.”

Climate change and its effects are getting worse with every second we fail to adjust our lifestyles. Incentive programs to decrease single-use plastic move us one step closer to a greener tomorrow, and everyone at Syracuse — students, professors, faculty and staff — have the power to revolutionize sustainable efforts. By encouraging and embracing sustainable programs, we can control what lies ahead.

Mia Givens is a freshman at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at [email protected]. She can be followed on Twitter at @miiagiivens.

Published on September 17, 2019 at 3:05 am