(More than) 350 Thermoses Saving the World From Paper Cups

In a science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein, the main character puts on cheap flimsy clothes each morning, then shoves his clothes down the waste-disposal chute each evening. At first I found this idea kind of repulsive and decadent. “How can this guy afford to waste 365 suits of clothes a year?” I thought. But everyone in his civilization did the same. And when you think about it, it’s not so different from our habit of throwing away paper cups at every meal.

That’s why Kline Cafeteria is doing a Disposable-Free Week! The Environmental Collective set up a table by the entrance of the cafeteria. They asked people to sign a pledge never to use paper cups in Kline again. In return for the pledge, people were given free thermoses with the logo of Bard’s catering company on them. They could also help themselves to eco-friendly lightbulbs, cloth napkins, and stickers with the 350 logo. The EC tablers also encouraged Kline diners to attend a 350 Teach-In on Climate Change.

The thermoses were very popular. People lined up in large numbers to sign the pledge and receive their free prize. It was a triumph for disposable-free activism.
Nevertheless, there were a few bumps along the way. “I think the majority of people supported our effort,” said Kira, an Environmental Collective member. “The problem is, the minority which didn’t support the effort could be very vocal at times.” You see, paper products students were accustomed to using disappeared from the shelves of Kline during the week.

One charming young gentleman dramatically proclaimed that since he had no paper cup, he would throw his regular cup in the trash instead. But another guy remarked good-naturedly that Disposable-Free Week was helping him lose weight. He was in the habit of taking away paper cups of sugary cereal at the end of every meal, and now that habit was no longer practical.

The week was somewhat stressful for the Chartwells staff. One girl asked the Kline staffperson for a paper cup, and argued with him when he refused. But then another student asked for a paper cup and the staffperson caved in (maybe he didn’t have the energy for another debate.) The girl who had initially been denied a paper cup started screaming about unfair treatment.

As a result of this scene, paper cups were on the shelves during a brief period of Disposable-Free week. However, most of the time, the paper plates and dishes were not available. The Environmental Collective has high hopes for the possibility of phasing out paperware entirely.

The problem is, if people can’t take paper dishes out of the building, there will be problems with regular dishes being stolen. As every Bard student knows, Kline has many entrances and exits, so it is quite easy to carry ceramic plates and mugs out of the building. Sometimes people come to Kline five minutes before class and really need to grab something to go. Pressed for time, they take dishes and forget to return them. Obviously Chartwells Catering cannot afford to buy a new set of cutlery and tableware every week, so stolen dishes are a huge concern.

“We need to change people’s mindsets,” said Natalie from the Environmental Collective. Almost everyone at Bard College feels comfortable stealing from the cafeteria. Ethical students who would never dream of shoplifting, for example, see no problem stealing a free meal for a friend who is visiting them. And people help themselves to dishes as if they were public property.

The student handbook threatens dire fines and penalties for students who take Kline dishes out of the building. But the policy is pretty much unenforced. The issue is made even murkier by the “Kline dish return bins” which are in the trash area of some dorms. Although these bins are an effective way of getting the dishes back to Kline, they send mixed messages about proper behavior.

There’s a painting hanging in my parent’s living room that shows an old-fashioned scene from Holland. Everyone is merrily dancing about, and one portly gentleman prancing about in mustard-yellow breeches, has a spoon tucked into the ribbon tied around his hat. I remember asking as a child, “Why does he have a spoon in his hat? He looks ridiculous.”

My mom gravely told me, “In the olden days, not everyone had a spoon. Having spoons was a sign of wealth and prestige. So of course he wanted to display it. Also, if he wants to buy some soup, this spoon is nice and handy.” I have no idea whether this answer was true, or just something she said to shut me up. But it gives me an idea. Why doesn’t every student carry around their own personal set of tableware? Why stop at mugs? I’m not saying we need to wear hats with spoon, fork, and knife tucked into the brim (although it would be pretty cool if we did.) I’m just saying sometimes it’s fun to think outside the box.

Some people decorate their thermos mugs with stickers. Other thermos mugs have slogans of causes they support, or names of places they’ve been. A thermos can be a form of personal artistic expression— much like clothing can be. People get attached to thermoses the same way they get attached to favorite sweaters. When I read about the cheap disposable clothing in Heinlein’s sci-fi future, I wondered how people would express themselves through such clothing. Why, such clothing would be as impersonal and as devoid of sentimental value as Kleenex!

Speaking of Kleenex. In the books I read when I was a little girl, people would always sentimentally wave their hankerchiefs to say goodbye. If a girl liked a boy she would secretly slip him her hankerchief and he would wear it next to his heart while he jousted. In the book Little Women, the Beth character embroiders hankerchiefs with the word, “Mommy,” and her mother cries and says “I will treasure these hankerchiefs always.” And what do we have now? We have Kleenex. Who cares about Kleenex?

This culture of disposable consumer goods does more than hurt the environment. It deprives us of the chance to form emotional attachments to objects. When we switched from hankerchiefs to Kleenex, maybe we gained in hygiene, but we certainly lost an important part of our culture.

Perhaps the switch from paper cups to thermoses can be a cultural gain. Thermos-decorating can become the new art. Thermoses with provocative slogans can become starting points for conversations! I read a poem once where a boy sends a girl three roses. If she wants to marry him, she’s supposed to wear all three in the bosom of her gown. If she likes him a lot, she’s supposed to wear two, if she likes him a little, she’s supposed to wear one, and if she doesn’t like him at all she’s supposed to leave the roses at home. The flowers become a kind of secret language.

Well, we don’t wear roses in our bosoms so much anymore, but maybe stickers on thermoses could be a new kind of secret language. “Honey, if you love me, put these stickers on your tea thermos. When I see you in Kline at breakfast, I’ll be able to tell in a glance how much you feel for me.”

In a culture where everything can be thrown away, where’s the creativity? Where’s the self-expression? Where’s the ROMANCE?

Challenge: Attend a 350 event on Saturday, October 24th! It’s the International Day of 350 Action! Bard students should be informed that vehicles are leaving at 11:00 from the Kline parking lot, to attend a 350 March on the bridge.