We, the RPI Sunrise Movement, and the students of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, have observed that the staff of Commons and Sage have been forced to issue plastic dishes and utensils instead of more environmentally-conscious reusable dishes. 

This is because large swathes of staff have been fired during the pandemic and have not been replaced despite the clear need for more employees. This is because the workers of RPI  have been systematically neglected and overworked by management. This is because the administration and admissions department of Rensselaer massively overenrolled the current freshman class, throwing wide segments of the administration into chaos, ranging from food services to housing. Environmental concerns and welfare are placed far below increasing already bloated profits and payments for the upper levels of the administration. These practices and priorities have led to the staff being unable to keep up with the demands of washing dishes and their many other extensive duties.

This situation is not the fault of the dining hall workers, but their employers, and we demand it be resolved.

The use of disposable silverware and dishes significantly increases the carbon footprint and amount of waste over reusable ones. Considering just the waste of the new freshman class, approximately 2,200 students eating three meals a day leads to over 46,200 utensil packets per week. The disposable materials are being used because the staff are unable to keep up with the students otherwise due to the mismanagement of the administration.

Compostable utensils, access to composting bins, or recyclable materials would all be possible solutions. However, these ideas are temporary fixes, not longterm environmental solutions. Single-use waste is unacceptable in 2022 from a dining hall at a so-called prestigious institute. 

We demand the RPI administration resolve these issues in a just way that is fair to the concerns of the workers and students. By the start of October, we would like to see massive improvements in the utensils and dish washing systems at RPI. And we request that this resolution be made with sustainability in mind.