Plastics Victory: University of Victoria Campus Reusables Program

For the past few years, the University of Victoria (UVic) Surfrider Foundation Canada Club (Surfrider UVic) has been urging the university to lead by example and eliminate single-use plastic from campus. Surfrider UVic created a petition, which is based on the Post Landfill Action Network’s (PLAN) pledge for plastic-free campuses and amassed over 2,500 signatures last year! PLAN is an international organization that works to support and equip students with the tools and knowledge needed to help their universities/colleges break out of the linear consumption method so commonly seen. PLAN created the Break Free From Plastic Campus Pledge in 2018 in order to provide students with a comprehensive single-use plastic policy that was specifically tailored to universities and colleges. Part of this policy focuses on systematically switching from single-use plastic items to reusables or compostables (that don’t contain PFAS).

Over the past year the Surfrider UVic team really dug into this work on switching to reusable containers, regularly meeting with representatives from UVic Food Services, UVic Facilities Management, and independant reusable container vendors. While the response from UVic was generally positive and supportive, there was a reluctance to officially sign the pledge, and the cost of implementing a reusable container system campus-wide was a major concern.

Taking another approach, the club decided to enter a contest put on by UVic that asked students to make a one-minute video describing their idea of how the UVic community can advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). In sixty seconds, they explained why phasing out single-use plastics on campus helped to advance the following SDG’s: Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, Life Below Water, and Life on Land. Their video also highlighted the making of a single-use coffee cup display created from discarded coffee cups and lids that were collected on campus, and arranged into the Surfrider wave. This wave contains 175 cups and lids, which represents the amount discarded every 45 minutes at UVic.

In February 2022, after months of waiting, they finally heard back - and they won the video contest ! This was a huge win for the team, and a valuable chance to give their petition some high-level exposure at UVic.

Single-use coffee cup display created by Surfrider UVic. photo: Ella Ostrikoff

The great news is that all this hard work by the Surfrider UVic has paid off. In the fall of 2022, UVic opened their new dining hall (the Cove) and residence building. Surfrider UVic was ecstatic to find out that UVic implemented a reusable take-out container program in this building! Prior to this year, the only to-go options were single-use containers. This new program, called ECO box, allows students, staff, and faculty to use and return a reusable container that will then be washed by dining services and reused. All residence students on a meal plan are automatically enrolled in the program, while other members of the UVic community can buy into the program by purchasing an “ECO card” for a one-time fee of five dollars.

ECO box reusable container. photo Matt Miller

For many students, a to-go option is the easiest way to fit a meal into their busy schedules. While sitting down to enjoy a meal with friends is fun, sometimes the need to take your food to-go is unavoidable, and having the option to choose a reusable container is much more sustainable. While this change is an exciting step in the right direction, this system is currently only running in one building, and UVic has a long way to go to become a more sustainable campus by phasing out single-use plastics. Surfrider UVic doesn’t plan on stopping here - the next steps are to see reusable containers as the main to-go option all across the UVic campus, and a reduction or elimination of food pre-packaged in plastic!

This is a victory we credit to all the UVic club members, students, staff, faculty, and residents who took the time to sign our petition.