As takeout containers pile up on college campuses across the country, Michigan universities are confronting a waste stream that swelled during the COVID-19 pandemic and shows no sign of retreating. At Michigan State University, Carla Iansiti, who oversees sustainability efforts in student life and engagement, described the landscape in blunt terms.
“It’s all a nightmare,” Iansiti told the Associated Press. She said the expansion of grab-and-go dining — from campus Starbucks locations to convenience stores like Sparty’s and delivery platforms such as Grubhub — amounts to a “culture shift.” The result, she said, is a daily tide of single-use containers, many of which never reach a recycling bin.
The pandemic forced dining halls to close or limit indoor seating, accelerating a reliance on takeout meals that proved sticky. When restrictions lifted, the convenience of mobile ordering and delivery kept the habit alive. At Michigan State and the University of Michigan, sustainability officers are now trying to cut the waste without upending student routines — a balancing act that has become a persistent challenge for campuses trying to meet ambitious environmental targets.
Neither university has found an easy fix. The difficulty, officials say, lies in reconciling a culture built around speed and convenience with the infrastructure and behavioral changes required to reduce packaging waste. Iansiti characterized the daily deluge of containers in stark terms, but stressed that schools are not giving up on their sustainability goals.