In efforts to build a more sustainable campus, Stevens has shifted gears and made small changes that have left a positive impression on students.
At the beginning of the school year, students were greeted with new Facilities & Campus Operations vehicles. These electric cars, which appear to be a mix of a Jeep and a golf cart, are being introduced as older campus vehicles are retired or replaced.
The Facilities Department has also been pushing toward green infrastructure on campus. With the completion of the Hudson Street Rain Garden this summer and functional green rooftop the previous summer, Dr. Fassman-Beck, a faculty member and leading green infrastructure expert, has made the Stevens campus a research site for testing new mechanisms for collecting and diverting stormwater in urban settings. Although it is not a standard in all buildings on campus yet, green infrastructure in buildings may become an expectation for all cities of the future to conserve the environment.
As the largest source of waste on campus, Stevens Dining has also followed suit in being more environmentally conscientious. Dining services has removed plastic straws from all dining locations and replaced them with more sustainable paper straws.
The paper straws, which are not recyclable because they are contaminated by food products, are biodegradable and create an awareness of the small changes that an individual can make by using alternatives to single-use plastics.
Paper straws, however, tend to leave pulp in drinks, so make sure to down the coffee quickly or switch to an even more sustainable option: metal straws. Sold on campus, Amazon, and many other locations, metal straws have been appearing around Stevens, showing that students are willing to invest in small changes that make a difference.
Although it seems like this school year has been a starting point for more sustainability initiatives, many facilities and clubs on campus have already been making a difference.
Last semester, dining services began to offer reusable mugs at Pierce Dining Hall to discourage students from using the unrecyclable to-go cups and participated in events like Stop Food Waste Week. Student organizations like S.A.V.E. have continuously acted as a meeting point for students who are passionate and curious about making environmentally-friendly changes. Last semester, during the Earth Day celebration, S.A.V.E. handed out metal straws to students after advocating for recycling and reducing single-use plastics for several years.
For students interested in sustainability, the Fall Sustainability Seminar is being offered on Wednesday nights by Professor Sarkar, beginning next week both online and in person. The seminar features new speakers every week from a large array of backgrounds and majors, including clean energy, pharmaceuticals, and the United Nations.
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