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Initiatives include reducing single-use water bottles, plastic cutlery and plastic straws, and introducing powdered detergent to campus laundry rooms.
Single-use water bottles, plastic cutlery and plastic straws all too often end up in the trash and eventually start to add up.
That’s why Northeastern’s Student Government Association is working with the university in a collaborative effort to reduce their use through education and awareness of alternatives.
“It’s a multi-prong strategy for reduction and encouraging more people to use reusable products,” said Julian Herzing-Burkard, a third-year international business major and vice president of campus affairs in the SGA.
Heavily involved in this campaign is the SGA’s Sustainability Committee and Green Initiatives Board, which help set priorities and finance projects.
SGA also welcomes input from the individual students, who can advocate to have sustainability questions and initiatives be placed on its spring ballot.
“It isn’t just about us,” Herzing-Burkard said. “We are the connector piece between a lot of students who are really passionate about sustainability, and a lot of administration that we connect with are passionate about working toward the sustainability goals.
“At the end of the day, we’re just a product of a university student body that is really passionate about these issues and we’re just trying to facilitate that.”
There has long been interest in reducing plastics on campus. Last spring, the D’Amore-McKim School of Business Sustainability Committee approached the SGA about the sale of single-use plastic water bottles on campus.
So Herzing-Burkard helped spread a petition to gauge the interest of faculty, staff and students.
As a result, the Plastic Reductions Working Group came up with different action items, including providing the community with a list of places on campus where reusable water bottles can be filled.
The group also worked to distribute free carabiners so people could attach them to their backpacks.
The community was also invited to sign a pledge to reduce their own use of single-use plastics. Those who sign it get a discount on reusable water bottles in the campus bookstore.
“The initiative is to promote the reduction of plastic in general and plastic packaging,” said Alexandra Mora, a fourth-year cellular molecular biology major and chair of the SGA’s Green Initiatives Board. “We were able to demonstrate significant interest in the issue.”
In the spring, the board will turn its attention to other single-use plastics like cutlery, straws, bags and take-out containers with additional tools and messaging.
“It’s a work in progress and I think we’re all just really excited that it was able to come to fruition,” Mora said.
Beyond this, SGA is also working to introduce powdered detergent to campus laundry rooms in an effort to reduce plastic waste, according to Alexandra Vergara-Anglim, the Sustainability Committee chair and a fourth-year mechanical engineering student.
The committee is working with Generate to create a laundry detergent dispenser that can distribute the powder.
“We’re in the early stages where we’re hoping to get our samples out and receive feedback and hopefully get that off next semester,” Vergara-Anglim said. “Certain detergents when mixed with water aren’t as sustainable for filtration systems. Some of them have certain microplastics in them.”
SGA is also working to reevaluate the labeling on recycling bins around campus to help make sure people are putting the right materials in the proper bins.
“Students really want to do the right thing with how they are disposing of the waste,” Mora said.
The Green Initiatives Board is also supporting the Northeastern Artificial Intelligence Club, which is trying to develop an AI-powered greenhouse, Mora said.
“We are really open to innovation and I think this project is a good example of that,” she said.
Mora said she’s always excited when first-year students want to get involved.
“If they come to us saying they’re interested in sustainability, but don’t know where to start, we’re here to help them,” she said.