Acadia to eliminate use of plastic bags in campus retail stores
WOLFVILLE - Acadia University will launch its latest initiative toward reducing plastics on campus with a new plastic bag policy that goes into effect on Earth Day.
The university’s new policy will eliminate the use of singleuse plastic bags at retail stores at the university and for regular university operations. reusable, paper and biodegradable bags will be allowed, but students will be encouraged to bring their own with them.
“Over the years there have been a number of smaller initiatives (toward reducing plastic waste), but it has really ramped up over the past year or so with a particular interest from our students,” says Acadia sustainability co-ordinator Jodie Noiles.
In December, Acadia students union implemented a 10-cent charge per plastic bag distributed in the student union building to discourage use of bags.
While plastic bags represent only a small portion of Acadia’s overall waste production, it still amounts to almost 9,000 bags in retail operations each year, the university said.
Acadia has already installed water fountains with bottle refilling stations in residences and elsewhere on campus to encourage use of reusable bottles. Students also established disposable-bottle free zones around campus as part of a campaign to raise awareness about global waste problems and water rights issues.
Noiles said Acadia has worked closely with the ASU on initiatives to reduce the use of plastics on campus.
“Plastic bags are the ones that get the most attention, media and research, but we’ve expanded it to eliminating straws and reducing where we could,” she said.
Chartwells, Acadia’s food service provider, committed to eliminating plastic straws from retail and dining hall operations, and students union food and bar services have also reduced straws in operations as part of a campaign led by several students in environmental and sustainability studies.
Now, the university launched the plastic free campus program to continue its efforts.
“It’s a process for identifying unnecessary disposable plastics on campus,” Noiles said. “Sometimes it could lead to eliminating an item, but sometimes it takes longer to identify a source of products that are accepted on our own waste management stream on campus and perform the function we might need it to perform.”
This week, plastic film wrap will be discontinued in print shop operations.