Diabes: Market Central trays not all that bad

‘ ‘ ‘ I have to preface this column by saying that lately, as an avid environmentalist myself,… ‘ ‘ ‘ I have to preface this column by saying that lately, as an avid environmentalist myself, I have been very impressed by the work of my fellow students whom I see time to time in Market Central. Gloves off, sleeves rolled up, they dig through the remains of people’s lunches and dinners to unearth information about just how much we’re wasting when we don’t finish those spoonfuls of rice steeped in soy sauce at the bottom of our 360 plates or the last bite of that massive grilled cheese sandwich. ‘ ‘ ‘ It is important in movements like this to be as visible as you are effective, to uphold an active image that will cause awareness to spread. However, a great problem arises when the image outdoes that action. Even worse is when the image is all there is and no active change is achieved at all. ‘ ‘ ‘ This is the case with the new revolution to remove trays from Market Central. These plastic platforms, though reusable ‘mdash; that is to say, relatively environmentally conscious because they are used over and over again and are not filling up landfills or incinerated and depleting ozone ‘mdash; consume between one-third and one-half of a gallon of potable water per washing, and the energy and dish detergent that go with that. ‘ ‘ ‘ When this information was first presented to me, I considered giving up the tray. I found this choice had me making two or sometimes even three trips back to my seat before I could begin enjoying my meal, but come to think of it, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make to help preserve the environment. ‘ ‘ ‘ I’ve actually heard some people complain about making extra trips, and I guess that is what is pressing the group to do less ‘awareness’ and more ‘forcing the hand,’ since some students are so blatantly lazy. Is it really too much to make two trips to bring the food that was prepared for you back to the table that has been washed and cleared for you? That gives a new meaning to ‘out of touch with reality.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ But being out of touch doesn’t even describe the dark secret behind the tray removal process. I am not criticizing it from that lazy, ‘I don’t want to have to go back for my soda’ viewpoint, nor the ‘global warming isn’t real, and therefore we should be wasteful’ stance. I am criticizing them from an informed, ecologically sensitive citizen’s mind set. ‘ ‘ ‘ Let’s ignore for a second the fact that Market Central is probably, other than The Perch, the most sustainable eating facility on campus. Let’s also ignore the fact that Strutters of Schenley Cafe puts all of its food on polystyrene plates, one of the most infamous of all commonly used materials: It’s a toxic carcinogen to humans, a material that bleeds into drinks and waterways that run around landfills and one that sits intact for about a millennium. ‘ ‘ ‘ And we’ll ignore that everything except the trays in the Cathedral Cafe is plastic and one-use only. And that students who enjoy showing off their prowess with chopsticks have to use disposable wooden chopsticks, which, according to a March 2006 piece in the Independent, are responsible for the destruction of 25 million fully grown trees annually. ‘ ‘ ‘ Let’s ignore all of those glaring problems that are poisoning students, subjecting them to harmful chemicals, dirtying the waterways, blackening the skies, filling landfills and covering the oceans. Instead, we’ll focus on the reusable trays in Market Central that are washed with less than a gallon of water each ‘mdash; water probably filled with chemicals from Schenley Cafe’s polystyrene plates. ‘ ‘ ‘ Of course, this could be a step in the right direction, even if it is badly prioritized and somewhat misinformed. It does in fact save water and a energy ‘mdash; although the energy savings may be negligible, considering the University’s many 24-hour, lights-on buildings. Removing the trays could be a step in the right direction, if it weren’t actually all a big farce. ‘ ‘ ‘ I asked two of the people collecting the waste from students’ lunches what would be happening to our wonderful trays now that they are being retired. I was told that we were retiring them, but the trays weren’t going to be out of commission. ‘ ‘ ‘ Yes, the ultimate passing of guilt. Apparently, our waste-promoting trays are being sent elsewhere! They’re being sent to ‘other schools’ or ‘probably to summer camps.’ How very productive ‘mdash; let’s let them waste their water instead of us. ‘ ‘ ‘ Here’s an idea. Let’s leave the trays alone until someone comes up with a better idea of what to do with them. Hey, maybe they can be ground up and used as insulation for homes in a desperate neighborhood. Maybe they can be the newest fashion craze. Meanwhile, I’ll be putting my food from Strutters on a reusable tray in place of the disposable, poisonous polystyrene plate. Send all thoughts, and trays, to mad150@pitt.edu.