At the beginning of this semester, the dining halls at Binghamton University replaced their eco-friendly, biodegradable to-go options (such as to-go boxes and utensils) with ones made of plastic. Plastic pollution is a major issue around the world and causes a variety of issues such as hurting marine life and microparticle pollution. A variety of cities have banned plastic straws and recently the state of New York has approved a ban on single-use plastic bags. People around the country and the world have taken notice of the dangers of plastics, so it is appalling that Binghamton Dining Services regressed back to plastics after having very sustainable options set in place. In addition, the eco-friendly options we previously had were higher quality products than the plastics we are now forced to use. The plastic to-go boxes are thin and slippery so it is difficult to stack on top of them, and the utensils are flimsy and feel cheap, making it difficult to pick up food.

This problem can easily be solved by bringing back the to-go boxes and utensils that are eco-friendly and biodegradable. Dining services claim that the plastic options are cheaper and will, therefore, benefit the students in meal plan pricing. However, we would prefer the more eco-friendly options that are higher quality, as creating more sustainable dining halls is more important than the very minor reduction in meal plan pricing.