Dickinson College’s sustainability efforts have not gone unnoticed by nationwide sources.  Sierra magazine has ranked Dickinson in the “Top Coolest Schools” in five out of the past seven years.  Dickinson has made the Princeton Review Green Honor Roll in each of the past four years, achieving a 99 Green Rating, the highest attainable score.  As Dickinson continues to strive as one of the national leaders in sustainability efforts, it is important that Dickinson continues to improve not only energy reduction efforts, but waste reductions as well.  Over the past four fiscal years, Dickinson has consistently increased its total campus waste from 899 tons in 2013, up to 1,112 tons as of 2016.  Reducing campus wide waste should have positive impacts across campus and will only improve Dickinson’s national sustainability rankings.

 

One of the largest sources of campus generated waste is attributed to dining locations that are typically used as to go options across campus.  Such locations include Union Station, The Quarry, Grab & Go, The Underground, and the Biblio Cafe.  All of these places have unsustainable packaging or containers to distribute food.  Union Station, one of the most frequently used dining locations on campus by students, faculty, and staff is also consequently a large waste producer given the availability of plastic to go cups and food containers at this location.   

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