As campus consumers we value sustainability, but what happens when we cross the street? Boba cups and straws, Yogurtland spoons, Chipotle containers, Top Dog and Jamba Juice soda cups from the neighboring business district infiltrate the campus waste stream, overflow trash containers, may not be compostable, trash our streets and spaces.
OUR WORK Step 1: Get south campus restaurants to Green Business Certify. Step 2: Re-think Step 1. We learned that quick serve/ fast food businesses generally don’t have the bandwidth (time, attention, profit margin, or facilities) to green business certify.
Focus on waste reduction. Build a campaign to influence merchants and build demand among the campus community. The result?
Step 3:
The ASUC Berkeley Senate, the Berkeley Student Food Collective, and the Global Environment Theme House, other student organizations, endorsed the campaign.
South campus quick-serve restaurants – such as Dumpling Express, UCafé, Share Tea, Caffe Strada – agreed to grant discounts for use of reusables during Earth Week. We’ll compare our impact, auditing before and during Earth Week. Noah’s Bagels, Café Milano, the Med and others already offer discounts for reusables!
Also, sometimes we don’t separate even our compostable waste.
Hundreds of students supported the campaign, won prizes, thought about reuse!
Team Telegraph Green 2014
Maggie Hardy, Lead Intern Katie Latimer, Lead Volunteer Stephanie Lin Judy Lai Brandt Weary Jennifer McDougall, Staff Lead Beth Piatnitza, Staff Supervisor
Invaluable assistance from: Grace Crvarich,
Jamie Peng, Emily Marthinsen, UCB Real Estate; Jennifer Cogley, Jordan Klein, Andy Schneider, City of Berkeley; Michael Laux, Cal Dining; Lin King, Recycling & Refuse; Lisa McNeilly, Sustainability Office; Pamela Evans, Carolina Miranda, Bay Area Green Business Program; Patrick Kaulback, EH&S; Jen Loy, Community Relations