As campus fast food deliveries become more common, concerns related to its environmental and social impacts are rising as well. Students and staff shared their observations on the school’s initiatives to combat the issues.
Many of the packaging materials used by fast food companies have far reaching effects outside of SCHS. Science teacher Suzanne Miller-Moody believes that not enough students are aware of the production from their fast food orders.
“In terms of transportation, fast food isn’t really that fast. And then, you as a consumer, you go and you get your fast food, and it’s wrapped in wax paper. You ask for a cup for water, you get a plastic cup,” Miller-Moody said. “It’s compounded. There’s just all the waste associated with it.”
Sophomore Vikram Atmuri noted that the compounding of waste does not include only fast food waste but rather waste produced by the school that should also be considered.
“I think the impact of the increased takeout is overshadowed by the amount of waste the school generates. The amount of waste generated is huge,” Atmuri said. “I think that, in itself, completely overshadows how much takeout is being ordered to the school.”
Miller-Moody mentioned that students’ fast food orders can create added stress for staff who are often preoccupied with other responsibilities.
“I do like myself some fast food, but I don’t routinely order it and have it sent to the front office at lunch,” Miller-Moody said. “Why is it okay to add another level of things that teachers and administrators and the auxiliary staff have to pay attention to for students? Why is this another thing that we have to administer and otherwise control?”
The increased responsibility of staff extends to the management of fast food delivery orders. Counseling secretary Desiree Sa-Gaspar detailed the difficulty of managing fast food orders, especially when preventing delivery personnel from entering campus to ensure student safety.
“I pull the table out (where students pick up their orders) in an effort to prevent DoorDashers from communicating with you guys,” Sa-Gaspar said. “They could just be a crazy person. We hope that they’re just here to do their job and deliver it.”
Once orders are delivered at school, it is necessary for students to pick up any waste that is produced. Custodian Jeff Demera suggested more supervision from campus supervisors could have an added incentive for students to clean up after themselves.
“If there’s an admin or a teacher or security person, they’re more inclined to throw their garbage away,” Demera said. “95% of the kids are great kids. It’s the 5% of the kids here that make 95% of the garbage. There’s 1,600 kids here, and there’s probably 50 to 100 kids making all the mess. The other 1,500 kids pick their crap up.”
Beyond supervision, sophomore Ananya Das feels that more measures can be put in place to ensure students properly dispose of waste. Das believes that enacting a reward system would encourage more students to dispose of their garbage properly.
“I would love for initiatives to be started up, and I think a lot of people on campus would join in and be involved, especially if there were initiatives offered,” Das said. “For example, service hours, or anything like that.”
Clubs on campus are another way for students to be involved in the reduction of waste. Miller-Moody described the start-up of the Project Earth club that focuses on recycling and waste management, a potential way for students to better aid custodians.
“Project Earth is the club that actually got (recycling bins) out there because they wanted to help create a culture of recycling on campus,” Miller-Moody said. “Whether it’s trash or recycling, it all ends up in the same bin because the adults who clean up after us don’t have time to do the separation.”
Atmuri explained that for waste to be properly disposed of, it is crucial for staff and students to have effective and clear communication about what needs to be done.
“If we were to take initiative, it would be worthless if we don’t know what the actual etiquette is to recycle that’s coming from the recycling centers,” Atmuri said. “The school needs to take impactful measures, communicating (with) both the recycling facilities and students to make that change and effectively help the waste to be recycled.”