Woohoo

• SFU’s Zero Waste project is a step in the right direction. There ain’t nothing wrong with trying to double the amount of waste diverted at the university by 2015. Even though it took me about 30 seconds of standing in front of the new waste bins to figure out where to put the segments of a coffee cup, that 30-second learning curve is one that I, and you, can afford.
• Canada is a wasteful nation. As of the last study on waste produced by the Conference Board of Canada in 2009, Canadians produced about 777 kgs of garbage each, while 16 other countries’ averaged 578 kg.
• World-wide waste has some pretty devastating results. For instance, look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s an area spanning the Pacific Ocean with a high concentration of broken-down plastic, chemical sludge, and other waste. While its exact size is undetermined, scientists generally agree that it’s too damn big.
• Adding a bit to Dan Moxon’s sing-song sentiment, it’s about flippin’ time for zero waste at SFU.

Boohoo

• Many SFU bathrooms inadvertently take a step backwards in cutting waste.
• The self-flushing toilets consistently flush more than once. Once, while I was in a stall, a toilet flushed five times due to the unfortunate combination of over-sensitive triggers and a tiny bathroom stall. Aside from the wasted water, I personally don’t like having the toilet flush unless I’m running out of the stall: otherwise, the water must spray more than just a little bit on me. Bleh.
• And how about the thin paper towels? I’ve personally only seen them in the Woodwards campus. If memory serves right, they straight-up say on them “environmentally friendly.” Somehow, I doubt this is true when I use at least two to dry my hands enough to operate the door. And at Woodwards, I’ve never seen hand dryer alternatives in the men’s restroom.
• These two “efficiencies” waste more than simple alternatives.