Since the pandemic, individuals and institutions around the world have been adjusting practices to limit the spread of COVID-19, which emphasizes disposable items for sanitary purposes. People all over the country began purchasing boxes of single-use medical masks, Clorox wipes and latex gloves to avoid direct contact with contaminated surfaces.

Many public spaces ended reusable material use, and the University of Oregon is no exception. While grocery stores stopped accepting reusable bags, UO dining halls ended Choose to Reuse, a program that rewarded customers who provided a reusable mug for their drink order.

UO Director of Dining Services Tom Driscoll said COVID-19 “has impacted our operations through and through.” To keep individuals healthy and following social distancing guidelines, dining halls changed procedures to keep staff and customers separate from one another. “You also have the idea of people handling other people’s dirty dishes, which is another form of not really being separate,” Driscoll said.

This concern not only halted the Choose to Reuse program, but also Dining’s push toward reducing waste through reusable dishes and silverware.

Although UO Dining piloted reusable dishware in previous years, last year was the first time it launched the program at a large scale; it was massively successful.
Driscoll said nearly 100% of meals were served in reusable dishes. In a typical year, Dining serves 3 million meals, according to Driscoll.

“I’ve been working on this problem of waste for a long time and trying to find a solution that is sustainable,” Driscoll said.

Dining won the Grand Prize for Sustainability at the National Association of College and University Food Services National Conference for their reusable plate, basket and silverware program.

But in the meantime, dining is serving all meals in single-use containers to minimize contamination throughout its services. However, Driscoll said Dining tries to use as little packaging as possible to keep with sustainability efforts.

“In terms of sustainability, Carson Dining as it operates normally is really hard to beat,” Driscoll said. “It’s china, it’s silverware, everything is reusable. You eat what you take and the waste is very, very low. In this scenario, we’re just not able to do that anymore.”

While Carson used to provide students with buffet style dining, Carson meals are now only available for takeout in cardboard boxes. While cardboard is compostable, Driscoll pointed out that there are no commercial composters serving UO, which means all compostable materials are sent to landfill.

Although sustainability seems to be taking a backseat in UO dining halls to respond to current health needs, Director of the Office of Sustainability Steve Mital said he isn’t concerned about increased waste during the pandemic.

“Those are short-term issues, I think. Not that we aren’t disheartened by it. We are,” Mitel said. “I don’t think any serious sustainability professional would begrudge that and sort of recognize the value of human health over some of our sustainability and emissions reduction goals in the short term.”