Tate Walden/ The Johnsonian
Since the switching from Aramark to Sodexo for Winthrop Dining Services, there has been an uproar. The disappearance of to-go boxes in Thomson Dining Hall last year was an issue, but now they are back and more sustainable than ever.
Bryan Harriss, general manager of Winthrop Dining Services, talks of this new initiative, “There was continuous feedback last year around the desire to bring [to-go boxes] back. What we were wanting to do is [identify] an alternative that actually impacted [the environment] and would be useful in how we manage… sustainability [at Winthrop],” he said.
Previously, under Aramark’s management, Winthrop Dining Services used compostable paper to-go boxes. However, there was no way to compost these items on campus and so they were a step back for Winthrop’s environmentally friendly projects.
Chris Johnson, Winthrop’s sustainability coordinator, talks of why these new to-go boxes are useful for these projects.
“When you hear the phrase reduce, reuse, recycle we always focus on the recycling piece and there is very little attention on the reduce. This is one way we can reduce waste period. If we are not generating it we don’t have to figure out what to do with it,” he said.
Winthrop Dining Services, Sodexo, Student Affairs and the Office of Sustainability have teamed up to satisfy student and environmental needs.
The four organizations have worked closely since spring semester of 2019 to talk about how to bring back the to-go boxes. They have successfully figured out a new project and it launched on Aug. 23.
Winthrop Dining Services has introduced new reusable, plastic to-go boxes students can use.
Students can purchase these boxes for a one-time fee of $5 to use throughout the year. They can be paid from any type of payment at the registers of Thomson. Winthrop Dining Services are also looking at having tabling events to purchase the boxes as well. Once students pay the fee, they can get their new boxes and a clip to put on their backpack.
Once finished with using the boxes, students must rinse them out and return them back to Thomson. You then have the choice to either get a new one right then or to wait to get a new one later. The clips for backpacks are useful to show that you have already made a purchase and are picking up a new to-go box.
Lilly Spruill, a sophomore mass communication major, speaks of why she thinks it so important to have these sustainable boxes.
“I think it’s a great idea. I definitely am glad they have environmentally friendly [items] … of course. I think it’s a small [initiative] but you gotta start somewhere,” she said.
However, for Winthrop Dining Services, this is not the first sustainable or eco-friendly project they have put in place.
Sodexo launched an initiative to eliminate plastic straw use and Thomson has replaced them with paper straws.
Winthrop Dining Services has also switched to using paper items for utensils, whenever there is a catering event or the dishwasher is broken.
They are now looking at a new composting project, “We are also working with the school on a composting project. So we started composting out of Thomson, [We are] working with Chris Johnson … to support the composting effort on campus,” Harriss said.
