Plastic cups in the Buttery will be phased out this summer, after students and staff were asked to vote on the first steps Trinity should take to become plastic-free.
The poll, which was co-ordinated with company One Step Closer, asked the Trinity community whether they wanted to replace disposable glasses with reusable ones in the Buttery, abolish all plastic cutlery from the Buttery or introduce paper straws in the Pav.
Speaking to The University Times last week, Michelle Hallahan, the Provost’s Sustainability Advisor, said the new system was simply about getting people’s opinions and views. College “wants to know if we’re doing something people don’t want”, she said.
Founded by Trinity graduate Joanna Mulkeen, One Step Closer aims to connect companies and institutions with their members.
Within the first 12 hours of the link to vote being shared, over 400 staff and students voted. At one stage, 622 users were using the platform. Speaking to The University Times last week, Mulkeen said: “Brands are very curious and very keen to listen more.”
Provost Patrick Prendergast has, during his tenure, proved himself remarkably open to lobbying on environmental issues. Fossil Free TCD, which successfully pushed Trinity to divest from €6.1 million in fossil fuels, found a College more receptive than many other universities around the world that have faced similar campaigns, while Plastic-Free TCD, which began this year, quickly received support from Prendergast. Hallahan said Prendergast has been supportive of the project from the start.
However, if successful, the approach won’t simply be confined to environmental or sustainability issues. “It’s easy to feel disenfranchised and disempowered”, Hallahan says. The new project asked people to consciously make a difference, whether that’s simply by casting a vote or getting more informed on an issue.
As a result of the engagement, all three options will be tackled by Trinity. College plans to have them all replaced by plastic-free substitutes by September 2018.
