Environmental Sustainability
While the Earth's climate changes over millennia, it is undeniable that humans are the primary cause of the rapid changes in Earth's climate which have taken place over the last several decades. Society as a whole must transition to a carbon neutral state in the next couple decades, with a need for future technology to repair the harm done the planet's ecosphere. In this section, I outline some of the steps I hope to pursue to help the McMaster Community achieve sustainability. I take a strong focus on waste production and management, as I believe this is a particularly notable area of focus due to the capacity for rapid change. With these steps in place, I hope to put McMaster University on a path to carbon neutrality by 2030.
Waste Management Initiative to better understand
and reduce waste production at McMaster facilities
Waste management is an often overlooked issue regarding sustainability. In addition, while the university has completed audits of its waste production in the past, there are significant areas in which more specific information is needed to better understand McMaster’s waste production. For example, information pertaining to how accurately waste is disposed of into the correct disposal bin by individuals, is limited. In addition, as of 2019 when the most recent waste audit was completed, McMaster missed the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation & Parks target that 60% of waste must be recycled or composted by a proportion of about 15%. As the return to campus takes place, it is very important that more data is collected to understand pandemic-specific changes which must be taken into account in any future Waste Management Strategy. I will work directly with Facility Services, the management of MUSC, and the Office of Sustainability to help create a more comprehensive audit to better understand McMaster’s waste production and develop strategies for mitigation.
Information campaign to help promote sustainable
waste disposal and management in student housing
Waste management however is not simply an issue specific to McMaster’s campus. A plurality of students live off-campus and also must dispose of their recyclable compost and garbage waste. Informing students how to accurately divide their waste In keeping with Hamilton city guidelines will ensure that the greatest proportion of waste is in fact recycled and composted instead of being sent to landfills. I work with the City of Hamilton as well as local partners to lead an information campaign that will help inform students of accurate, at home waste management methods. With this strategy, I hope to create a cleaner and greener community with a reduced environmental impact.
Work with Faculty to develop more sustainable lab practises
McMaster Is it leader in research and is defined by its many innovative research labs who have made breakthroughs throughout the university’s history. However, research is a often a long, complex process that requires significant resources to accomplish and may also produce significant amounts of waste. With modern technologies and resources available, significant portion of this waste is unavoidable as there are strict guidelines to follow to maintain scientific rigor. Nonetheless, this is not to say there aren't areas for improvement. I hope to work to create pilot project that can be used to help better catalogue waste production in labs, mainly focused on single-use, disposable plastics. With the knowledge gained from this pilot project we will be able to devise methods by which waste production can be reduced through the creation of a list of best practises. In the future, students will be able to experience the benefits of more sustainable and equitable lab practises in research opportunities.
Work with Hospitality Services to reduce food waste and ensure excess food supports those experiencing food insecurity
Waste management is also an issue specific to the production of food at McMaster. Hospitality services provides a wide array of different dietary options for those in the McMaster community. Despite the scale of Hospitality Services, there has not been a specific audit of waste production or food waste regarding the department. I hope to support the creation of an audit to understand how much food waste is produced by Hospitality Services and then implement mitigation strategies in collaboration with the department as well as Facility Services. These mitigation strategies will be two-fold: Firstly, they will aim to reduce food waste production and this environmental impact. Secondly, we will propose alternate applications of excess food supplies, so they may be used to support students and other a part of the Hamilton community experiencing food insecurity.
Choose to Reuse Container Program
​Visiting restaurants and spending one’s hard earned time and money at local businesses is an important social activity. It is also a great way to spend time with friends and family, an activity that we have been deprived off during the pandemic. As students return to the McMaster community, I hope to support this important social activity not only through discounts (as discussed in the Building a Stronger Hamilton Community section) but also by making the activity more environmentally friendly. I hope to spearhead the Choose to Reuse Program. This was a program introduced before the pandemic as a way for students to use reusable containers. First year students in residence were given a card which they could give to select eateries on McMaster’s campus, after which they then would receive food in a reusable container. Then, at any point in the future, when the student returned the container (unwashed is fine!) to any of the select eateries, they could either receive the card back or more food in the container. This is a great way to incentivise the use of reusable container, by having it as an option at multiple commonly visited food spots. I hope to expand this to local Hamilton business as well, in collaboration with Hospitality Services and companies specializing in distribution of reusable containers to restaurants, such as Friendlier. With this program in place and available to all students, we can greatly reduce generation of waste and create a more sustainable community.