Waste Maker: Takeout

It the inevitable college right of passage. Chinese takeout. It's delicious, convenient and fast, especially for those rainy days where you don't want to trek outside to the commons. But at what cost is this convenient dinner to the environment? Plastic containers, plastic silverware, napkins, chopsticks and styrofoam are the results. Depending on where you live this can be recycled, but most dorm rooms don't have the most state of the art recycling plan (this will be discussed later!!). So what is there for a student to do, a student who wants the tasty food from Uncle Chen's but not all the trash to pile in the landfill??

Let's take a look at the three Rs...Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Reduce! Most of us come to college with a few forks and knives, so instead of collecting all of those plastic ones, ask for no utensils! Need to use those chopsticks? If you are a huge Chinese food fan, invest in a reusable pair...I have several. I even found a pack of 4 in the dollar section at Target! Another (dare I say even more drastic) way to reduce waste would be to dine in. At the restaurant you will most likely be served on reusable dishes and make a fare amount less waste.
Reuse! Take out places are getting a lot fancier than they used to be. A lot of times instead of receiving those styrofoam or paper containers I get the plastic ones. The plastic containers are usually really nice! Wash them out and use them as storage for food, office supplies or just about anything that needs a sturdy container and a lid. They can even be placed on the top rack of a dishwasher.
Recycle! Recycle whatever is left, if you can. A lot of places at least have paper, metal and plastic recycling so the paper containers the rice come in can be recycled and any plastic containers unwanted can be recycled (check the number on the bottom).
So hopefully as you enjoy the lo mein noodles you can also enjoy the fact that you are making a conscious decision to try and be as sustainable as possible!

Welcome!

We decided to make this blog because we are both passionate about the environment, but in different ways. Trying to live sustainably, especially in college, can be quite difficult. So compiling all our shared knowledge and passions we will share every ounce of information we have gotten over the years of trying to live green in a not so green world; and update you on our new experiences as they happen! So...enjoy!