“Green” is in at the De Anza College cafeteria, thanks to innovative eco-friendly containers and utensils. As a result of a joint venture by De Anza’s club Working to Institute a Sustainable Environment on the 37th Parallel and campus center director Patrick Gannon, bio-degradable utensils and to-go containers have replaced Styrofoam, cardboard and plastic products in the cafeteria.

Then again, these new green products don’t come for free. Containers cost from 15 to 35 cents depending on the food stand. Some may view the extra charge as unreasonable however, this view is easily swayed when taking into account the benefits.

In addition to crowding landfills, plastic products are also crowding oceans. We’ve all heard that plastic rings from soda cans may blind and/or choke animals. In recent times, researchers have found an increasing number of garbage patches in the Pacific Ocean where plastic products outnumber sea life. According to the United Nations Environment Program website, they estimate the average square mile of water in the Pacific Ocean contains about 46,000 pieces of plastic.

Unfortunately, we cannot control where all our trash goes, however, we do know that eco-friendly containers like those found in our cafeteria pose a much smaller threat to the environment since they decompose into organic waste in about 40 days.

Many people also don’t realize that containers made out of plastic contain substances that can migrate into food.  According to ecologycenter.org, an action-oriented environmental group started in the 60s, plastic isn’t only harmful to our environment in that it takes hundreds of years to decompose; the particles in plastic products can release harmful substances into our bodies. Some of the most harmful substances are carcinogens, which can cause cancer, mutations and birth defects.

Styrene, the main component in Styrofoam cups is also harmful. According to the United States Department of  Labor website, some of the recognized hazards of styrene include irritation of the eyes, skin and respiratory track. Further chronic contact with styrene may affect the central nervous system and cause depression, weakness, as well as negative impact on kidney function. Products made out of organic materials, like those found in the De Anza cafeteria, pose no such threats.  

An extra 35 cents per day is beginning to look a lot less painful and a whole lot more promising.