The Campus Store will no longer be selling single-use plastic bags in an effort to make McMaster University more sustainable.
According to Donna Shapiro, the campus store director, the store was selling over 20,000 plastic or tote bags each year.
“We look at the waste on campus and we look at the plastic bags. Those bags are heavy duty plastic bags. We’re not talking about Walmart plastic bags, because they have to hold textbooks,” said Shapiro.
The Campus Store has previously taken measures to reduce the environmental impact of bag sales in the past, charging 15 cents per plastic bag. While the initiative failed to reduce plastic bag sales, it prompted the store to look into other more sustainable alternatives.
Louise Walker, the sales floor manager at the Campus Store, said it took their team a long time to evaluate alternatives such as paper or compostable bags. Each time they pursued an option in hopes that it would pose a solution, she said, they realized that it was much worse than plastic.
Eventually, she reached out to the university and got into contact with Kate Whalen. Whalen is the former developer and manager of McMaster’s office of sustainability as well as the current senior manager of academic sustainability programs at the university.
While many at the Campus Store supported the elimination of single-use plastic bags, they also considered student needs.
“I think my biggest concern was that the thought of a customer coming here and not being able to put their items in [a bag]. So Kate [Whalen] helped us think about the donation bin, where we could take donation plastic bags,” explained Shapiro.
The donation bin encourages shoppers to bring their own bag. If customers do not have their own bags, they can reuse a donated plastic bag or purchase a water resistant tote bag for 75 cents.
“The goal is not to sell the bag — the goal is for students to bring a backpack, their own recyclable bag or to carry it in their hands,” emphasized Walker.
The campaign, called “Maroon is the New Green,” launched on Aug. 24. The initiative is the first of many steps the Campus Store intends to take to make McMaster more sustainable, according to Walker.
“We’re looking at changing a mindset. People are used to bringing their bags to the grocery store but they’re not used to bringing their bags here,” said Walker.
The Campus Store’s remaining plastic bags, as well as bags donated by the store’s staff have been filtered into the donation box.
The store’s green team, a group of staff interested in supporting more sustainable practices, is now working closely with a group of students in the SUSTAIN 3S03 course to raise awareness of the campaign and continue to help the store look at greener alternatives.
The Campus Store is already looking at what reusability could look like in the future. They are working with student groups to create more sustainable products, such as washable cutlery sets and stainless steel straws.
“It fulfills two things: it’s a student entrepreneur we will be supporting, but also they are reusable materials,” said Shapiro.
She added that the Campus Store is always open to feedback about how they are able to improve a process. Students are encouraged to provide feedback to the Campus Store regarding their green initiatives at campusstore@mcmaster.ca.
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Faced with uncertain futures as a result of a rapidly warming climate, young people in Hamilton are joining a worldwide movement to urge leaders to take immediate and far-reaching action on the climate emergency.
Since March, a student-led activist group has been coordinating regular demonstrations outside of Hamilton city hall as part of the Fridays for future movement.
The strikes bring together students, environmental organizations and citizens in Hamilton.
The environmental community of Hamilton students, an alliance of environmental groups across the Hamilton and Catholic Wentworth district school boards, helps organize the climate strikes. They are also supported by Fridays for future, who organize climate strikes around the world.
The Fridays for future campaign began in August 2018 when Greta Thunberg, then 15, protested for three weeks in front of the Swedish parliament instead of going to school, demanding that leaders address the climate crisis.
Inspired by her actions, students from around the world began holding regular strikes to demand that their leaders take immediate action to address the climate crisis. Many protestors referenced a recent report from the United Nations international panel on climate change to highlight the urgency of the climate crisis.
The 2018 IPCC report found that it is of critical importance to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre industrial levels. According to the report, any warming above that threshold will run the risk of long-lasting, irreversible changes resulting in major loss of life.
The report states that, in order to meet the warming target, it will be necessary to substantially reduce emissions worldwide. Meeting the 1.5°C limit would require reducing emissions to 45 per cent of 2010 emission levels by 2030, and net zero by 2050.
“Limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society,” stated the report.
Many of the young people who will bear the greatest effects of the climate emergency are not yet old enough to vote. The Fridays for future movement provides a means for young people to demand that policy makers make the necessary changes to preserve the planet for future generations.
“The older generation, they might be more concerned with short term economic gain, but that’s because they’re not going to be around to see when our planet is on fire,” said Stephanie Foucault, an organizer of the Hamilton climate strikes. “The youth need to step up and really take charge of their future.”
The Fridays for future campaign is calling for an end to fossil fuel, demanding support for workers and developing countries during the transition to a renewable economy.
In Hamilton, protestors spoke specifically about the need to hold city councilors accountable to their pledge to substantially reduce the city’s emissions.
“Hamilton declaring a climate emergency is a great step, but we want to make sure that it’s followed up with some tangible action,” said Emmalee Frketich, co-founder of ECHS.
According to Angela Dittrich, an intern at environment Hamilton who was present at a climate strike held on May 24, transportation is a key area in which Hamilton can make changes to meet the emission reduction targets. For example, Dittrich stated that eliminating Hamilton street railway area rating would increase funding, which could lead to service improvements and make HSR service more equitable.
The fridays for future group plans to continue holding regular strikes to bring climate issues to the attention of leaders and citizens in Hamilton. Young people’s futures are on the line, and many feel that they have no choice but to stand up and demand change.
“It’s very frustrating to see how people are killing our earth,” noted a grade three Lyons Gate Montessori student present at one of the strikes. “If someone’s going to speak up we thought it might as well be us to help the earth.”
On Jan. 30, 2017, the McMaster Students Union announced plans to eliminate single-use plastic water bottles from Union Market as part of a strategy to work towards a more sustainable campus.
However in the fall of 2017, the newly elected board of directors decided to return single use bottled water to Union Market. Soon afterwards, boxed water was pulled from shelves.
Proponents of the boxed water project say that it was the first step of a plan to work towards sustainability on campus. According to others, the project was doomed from the beginning.
Former MSU president Justin Monaco-Barnes introduced boxed water as a more environmentally friendly alternative to bottled water. Monaco-Barnes was elected on a platform of sustainability, and had included the implementation of boxed water in his campaign.
Boxed water cartons are recyclable and made from well-managed forests. Furthermore, less energy is required to ship, produce and package boxed water bottles.
Prior to making the decision to phase out single use plastic water bottles, the MSU Advocacy team, led by Blake Oliver, had compiled a research report considering the sustainability, marketability, and financial considerations of implementing boxed water.
According to Monaco-Barnes, boxed water was meant to be the first step in a long-term plan to push the university to eliminate single use plastic water bottles altogether. By taking a moral stance against single use plastic water bottles, the board of directors hoped to encourage the rest of the university to follow suit.
Monaco-Barnes stated the next step in the project would have been to implement a water bottle filling station at Union Market complete with options for adding flavour and carbonation.
“By selling plastic water bottles again and undoing this ban, the MSU has effectively undone not only the work that was put into this effort, but has also undone the planned multi-staged process by removing the underlying principle,” stated Monaco-Barnes in a letter responding to the decision.
According to Jeffrey Campana, the current Union Market manager, the main issue with boxed water was the financial losses. Bottled water had been one of Union Market’s top selling items, and the switch to boxed water led to revenue losses resulting from both a lack of student interest and a lower profit margin on boxed water.
Campana was a cashier at the time that boxed water was introduced. He stated that the lack of interest in boxed water was a result of a higher cost, reluctance to purchase an unfamiliar product and an ineffective advertising campaign.
Boxed water was more expensive than the least expensive bottled water. For example, Eska was sold for $1.13 for a 500 mL bottle, while a box of water the same size cost $2.49.
Additionally, Campana noted that students were hesitant to purchase boxed water due to its unusual design. Since there were other places on campus that continued to sell bottled water, consumers were not forced to make the switch to boxed water.
Campana also stated that students were not effectively incentivized to purchase boxed water. In early January the MSU produced posters and infographics giving information about the environmental impact of bottled water. The graphics were displayed in Union Market.
However, according to both Campana and the 2016-2017 Union Market manager, a more robust and long term marketing campaign might have made boxed water sell more successfully.
The previous Union Market manager stated that she had not been properly consulted when deciding to phase out bottled water and market boxed water. The decision to transition to boxed water came as a directive from the board of directors instead of being a result of collaboration with Union Market Management.
Generally, the part time manager of Union Market is responsible for deciding what items to stock. However, since Union Market is owned and operated by the MSU, the students union president and board of directors can make decisions about what is sold.
If she had been consulted, the previous Union Market manager stated that she would have worked towards a long term advertising plan in preparation for the introduction of boxed water.
“I don't think it would have had the same results had I been a part of it like effectively,” she stated.
In addition to being more expensive for consumers, boxed was also more expensive to produce. This meant that Union Market made less money off of each unit of boxed water sold than what they made off of bottled water.
“I think it's a great product, I just would never sell it. Simply because I don't make money off of it, the MSU doesn't make money off it,” said Campana.
For Monaco-Barnes however, the overall purpose of the campaign was not to sell more boxed water. Ideally, students would switch to reusable water bottles and would therefore stop buying water from Union Market altogether.
Monaco-Barnes had anticipated that a revenue loss was likely to occur. However from his perspective, the environmental considerations outweighed the financial losses.
“Because it's such an important cause, becoming more sustainable and reducing carbon footprint, I think it's okay if it's going to take a bit of a financial hit,” said Monaco-Barnes. “That's the crux with sustainability […] if it was an easy, cheap, simple solution, everyone would be doing it," he added.
To help offset some of the financial losses from the removal of bottled water, the board of directors decided to raise the costs of other best-selling items at Union Market such as chocolate milk. In 2017, the price of chocolate milk increased from $1.86 to $2.25.
According to MSU General Manager John McGowan, prices were raised so that Union Market could continue to financially support its cost centres. However, they not raised to the point of recoupling the lost revenue from bottled water, as this would have made prices unaffordable.
According to the Union Market manager at the time, however, this price increase was not enough to make up the losses from bottled water sales.
Bottled water has since been reintroduced, meaning that Union Market is no longer facing revenue losses resulting from its absence. However, the price of chocolate milk has not been brought back down, despite being raised to help compensate the loss of bottled water.
Campana noted that the price of chocolate milk may still have increased due to inflation.
“$1.86 is miles away from being financially sound in 2019,” stated Campana.
Monaco-Barnes noted that the structure of the MSU makes continuity difficult. Due to the high rate of turnover in student government, long-term projects often do not get seen to completion.
While the overall project was ambitious, the implementation gap and lack of year to year continuity meant that the boxed water plan was short-lived.
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By: Drew Simpson
On Feb. 26, the Green is not White environmental racism workshop took place at the Hamilton Public Library’s Wentworth room. The free, open-to all workshop, garnered intrigue from attendees interested in learning about environmental racism.
Presenters sat on a raised platform and the room was filled with chart easel pads, activist posters and resources. The Green is Not White workshop, which is organized by Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces in partnership with the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Environment Hamilton and the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion started its seven-hour agenda with a land acknowledgement, icebreakers and then laid down foundational knowledge.
Environmental racism is originally defined by Prof. Benjamin Chavis as the racial discrimination and unequal enforcement of environmental policies. The types of environmental racism have expanded since this 1987 definition and currently encompass air pollution, clean water, climate migration, extreme weather, food production, gentrification and toxins in the community and workplace.
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The crust of the issue is that ethnic minorities are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. Black and Indigenous populations are most affected by environmental racism, yet this makes it no less of a collective issue. Local case studies were highlighted to drive this message close to home.
For example, most of Hamilton’s waste facilities are clustered just north of and within residential areas. This includes a proposed electronic waste processing facility, which can cause lead and mercury exposure, and an existing chemical wastes facility that is known for chemical explosions causing evacuations and serious injury. Loads of biosolids have been trucked through neighbourhoods posing disease risks from pathogens, concerns of terrible odours and ammonia use for steam filtering.
Studies show that Hamilton neighbourhoods with single-parent families and low education are the most exposed to air pollution. Since these neighbourhoods have fewer resources and are systematically marginalized, they are targeted by acts of environmental racism. The hashtag #EnvRacismCBTUACW continually discusses case studies across Canada.
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Along with the extensive examples of Canadians and Hamiltonians living in dire conditions due to environmental racism, as well as the government’s oversight of this issue, various Hamilton organizations have taken it upon themselves to drive change.
This workshop was the third part of a four-phase action research initiative on environmental racism by ACW, which develops tools to better the environmental conditions of jobs and the workplace and CBTU, a coalition that breaks the silence on African-Canadians’ labour issues. While this third stage involves community engagement, the fourth and final stage involves a joint report and video that will be housed on both the ACW and CBTU websites.
The slogan “Green is Not White” highlights that green jobs and environmentally safe conditions should not be reserved for white people. People of colour are most likely to work and live in dire conditions, and therefore deserve economic justice and access to clean water and land.
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By: Rya Buckley
Mia Sandhu’s paper cut outs depict images of women partially or entirely nude, amidst backgrounds of leaves or behind curtains. She began working on these figures four years ago as a way of working through her own ideas about women’s sexuality.
Sandhu is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Toronto. Her work has been exhibited in Toronto, Kingston, Halifax and Hamilton. She is a member of The Assembly gallery here in Hamilton, has done an artist residency at the Cotton Factory and also exhibited her work at Hamilton Artists Inc.
Last November, Sandhu exhibited her collection Soft Kaur at The Assembly, which featured playful figures who are comfortable with their sexuality. The name of the exhibition, which alludes to both to the softness and fierceness of women, incorporates the half Punjabi artist’s cultural background into her work.
“It's the idea [of] a female warrior spirit and the idea of equality that exists… Singh and Kaur are these given names and it was designed to eliminate status and… [create] men and women as equal. And I liked the play on this idea of soft female spirit slash warrior spirit [and] also the sexual undertone,” Sandhu explained.
There are other motifs in Sandhu’s work that suggest a dialogue between Sandhu’s culture and her evolving ideas on sexuality. A lover of Indian fabrics, silks and tapestries, Sandhu includes these aesthetic features in her work through the exotic plants in the environment her figures reside in. With the evolution of her work, she now references more domesticated plants that humans have formed a relationship with.
The silhouettes that are seen in Soft Kaur are also the result of Sandhu’s art’s progression. Her earlier work featured brown-bodied figures because Sandhu felt it more appropriate to use brown bodies in a work related to her upbringing and culture. Over time Sandhu employed more silhouettes in order to represent any woman, regardless of race.
The silhouettes do not broadcast as a uniform but as a canvas onto which women can project their own sexuality and ideas about sexuality. Sandhu is a believer in the fact that no one should decide for a woman how she should be represented sexually in society.
“I want women to be safe and I want them to feel safe and feel free and strong and empowered… [W]e're autonomous [and] each of us should choose for ourselves how we want to be represented sexually or in any other way because we're individuals. Hopefully we're not represented with any sort of attachment to shame. We should just be proud of who we are,” Sandhu said.
Facilitating space for women to speak about their ideas on sexuality was one of Sandhu’s aims behind this body of work. She finds it interesting to observe how her audiences connect with and interpret her art. By enabling dialogue, she finds that women can begin to realize the experiences that they share.
Exhibiting at The Assembly also gave Sandhu a location to speak with others about her work and to receive feedback. One thing that she appreciates about the Hamilton art scene is the sincerity of the participants who she feels are open to talking about important issues and are creating art that is driven by content.
While there is no linear narrative to Sandhu’s work, the content is obviously evolving as Sandhu’s own views develop. One of the motifs whose symbolism has changed over the years is the cloak that Sandhu’s figures have covering and revealing their bodies.
“[The cloak] represents shame, it represents personal space and it represents a number of other things as well… But it's like they're choosing how much of themselves that they're revealing and then as the work evolves, it's like the… cloak… stops being on them directly and starts being like in their space around them and they're allowing you in, or not letting you in,” explained Sandhu.
Through her work, Sandhu is also choosing to what extent she decides to let her audiences in. She is working on a new set of drawings and will continue to explore women’s sexuality and empowerment in the future. Her artwork is her diary, the paper cut outs and pencils replacing the thousands of elusive words that would be required to speak on the complicated ideas that she depicts.
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On Jan. 30, the annual Bell Let’s Talk Day, an advertising campaign created by Bell Canada, took the country by storm. In an effort to raise awareness and combat stigma surrounding mental health in Canada, Bell donated money to mental health funds for every social interaction with campaigns hashtag.
While the world tweeted, snapped and Instagram-ed away, The McMaster Women’s Athletic Leadership Committee took it one step further and hosted their first-ever Bell Let’s Talk event.
The event consisted of McMaster student-athletes sharing their personal stories in an open and safe environment that was open to the entire McMaster community. Five student-athletes, Sabrina Schindel, Allison Sippel, Aurora Zuraw, Nicolas Belliveau and Louis Sharland, took the floor and led discussions on depression, eating disorders, language and anxiety and men’s mental health.
http://www.instagram.com/p/BtRPDA0BkSb/
The event was a success with a great turn out that included open discussion and much-needed conversations on mental health and how it affects athletes, in addition to the right steps that need to be taken to combat different stigmas.
“At first, I was expecting it to be a small event with just members of WALC, but to have my teammates, friends and people I didn’t even know come out to support was so amazing and inspiring,” said Sippel, the initiator for the event.
The idea for the event came up after Sippel, a cross-country runner, wanted to be able to create an open space for people to be able to talk about their battles with mental health.
“I feel like if we are able to create a space where people are open to talking, there would be less of a stigma around it,” said Sippel.
She first wrote down her story after she got out of the hospital after suffering from an eating disorder. After reading it to her close friends and family members, she never really shared it with the public. But when the idea of creating an event for Bell Let’s Talk came up, the idea of the panel sharing personal stories came to mind.
Working with Claire Arsenault, McMaster’s Athlete Services Coordinator and WALC, the panel that would originally be a conversation for members of the committee grew to more.
“I was happy that male athletes joined in and it was really inspirational that the group of us could be able to share our stories,” said Sippel.
🗣️ #OneTeamForMentalHealth 🗣️
Ask someone how they are doing.
📸 @MPHcentral#WeAreONE | #BellLetsTalk pic.twitter.com/OlmEeBWH9r
— Ontario University Athletics (@OUAsport) January 31, 2019
Each speaker shared their story then opened up the floor for discussion, answering questions in regard to their experiences, advice for others and much more.
During the panel, Sippel shared her story about how her eating disorder led her to be hospitalized when she was 14 years old. After losing too much weight and no longer being allowed to run, her journey to bounce back was not easy.
“This illness had turned mind against body and person against person because nurses were trained to trust no one,” Sippel explained about her time in the hospital.
Eventually, Sippel showed signs of improvement and was allowed to leave the hospital and return to her everyday life. Fast-forward to today, and she is now running on the Mac cross-country team while trying her best to stay on top of her condition.
“It’s a lifetime of fighting against my mind so I never had to go back,” Sippel said.
For Sippel, having the student-athletes lead this conversation was important for a number of reasons.
“I feel like a lot of times, it is frowned upon to express our feelings. If we start the conversation, there is no better way to set an example for our fellow students,” said Sippel. “Hopefully five students sharing their stories can spiral into something bigger and start a movement.”
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Schindel, another one of the five student-athletes who shared their stories, is a lacrosse player who suffered from depression. Through the ups and downs of dealing with her battle, she eventually discovered that staying busy and active is what kept helped her out the most. This meant that when her lacrosse season was over, she would have to find something to keep her occupied so she did not fall down that dark hole again.
“Realizing that no one is beyond help and getting in front of my depression before it could do the same damage it used to,” Schindel explained as the steps she takes to keep herself from falling again.
Schindel’s story, though devastating, is more common amongst young people than one may think. This is why it is so important that these conversations are happening. Having the bravery to start the conversation, and sharing tips and resources with their fellow students is a great way for Marauders to do their part in helping end the stigma surrounding mental health.
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According to a 2012 survey from Euromonitor, more than half of global consumers took environmental considerations into account when making purchasing decisions.
However, choosing to eat sustainably is not a simple box to check, but rather a complex set of considerations. Small farms, organic certification, and local farms are generally accepted as guidelines for environmentally sustainable produce. But what do these considerations really mean, and how do they affect cost?
Advocates of small farms argue that they allow for environmentally friendly farming practices that larger farms tend to discourage.
Large farms are often monocultures, meaning that fields only produce a single crop. Monocultures are easier to manage than farms with high diversity, and they tend to produce higher yields. However, monocultures are more prone to pests, diseases and weed infestations due to the lack of diversity.
Since small farms cannot produce a high yield on a single crop, they often have more diversity. Practices such as crop rotation and intercropping are commonly used methods to plant multiple products in smaller fields. These practices have the environmental benefits of improving soil fertility and reducing dependence on fossil fuels and pesticides.
However, since small farms produce smaller yields on individual crops, it can be hard to compete with larger grocery stores.
According to Shane Coleman, the owner of Dilly’s Farmacy at the Hamilton Farmers’ Market, it can be difficult to match the prices offered by major grocery stores, especially when they offer specials during peak season.
“Grocery stores sell maybe 5000 items. But they choose what’s in season and they’ll sell that at a very cheap cost,” stated Coleman.
The concept of economies of scale explains why large grocery stores can afford to offer specials. The more a manufacturer can produce, the less production costs. Therefore mass produced products cost less for the consumer.
However, Coleman still tries to keep costs on par with the major grocery stores. The average cost for a pound of tomatoes at Dilly’s Farmacy this past week was $2.50. This was cheaper than the $2.90 average at Fortinos, but more expensive than Nations Fresh Food, whose tomatoes came in at an average of $1.90.
These disparities are not only due to farm size. Organic certification and farm location also have considerable impacts on price, quality, and environmental impact.
If a product is labeled organic, it means that every step of production has complied by a set of rules aimed at maintaining environmental and human health.
In Canada, any agricultural product that is labeled organic is regulated by the Canadian food inspection agency.
Rules for organic products in Canada limit or restrict the use of pesticides and fertilizers genetically modified organisms and synthetic organisms, among other limitations. Organic farmers also must use growing practices that reduce dependence on fossil fuels and pesticides, such as crop rotation, composting and non-pesticide pest control.
The organic label has the benefit of holding producers accountable and assuring consumers that standards have been met. According to public services and procurement Canada, standards recognized by producers, users, and government allows for “easy identification of product ingredients through labeling and common language, promotion of user confidence, and representation of a variety of views and expertise.”
However, not all farmers get organic certification, since it can be expensive and time consuming for small farmers to fulfill the requirements.
Certification costs can range from a few hundred dollars to over two thousand dollars. The more products that a farm produces, the more expensive certification will be. Therefore, for small farms, organic certification can be unaffordable.
It is also more expensive to grow organic food, since preservatives are not permitted to extend shelf life. Crops are lost to pests and considerable effort has to be made to prevent comingling between organic and non-organic crops.
The organic certification can be beneficial to assess quality and environmental impact at major grocery stores, where consumers are unable to communicate directly with producers. However, farmers’ markets give consumers the ability to ask farmers questions about their growing practices.
“You know the person, you talk to them,” said Coleman. “Usually the people that work at the market are really knowledgeable about the produce.”
Food produced locally is generally more fresh and nutritious and better for the environment due to shorter transportation time.
According to Gord Williams, partner at Williams Brothers at the Hamilton Farmers’ Market, the fresh food he offers sets him apart from major grocery stores. Since produce can be harvested and sold on the sameday, it is picked when it is at its ideal ripeness.
Though it seems counterintuitive, local produce can be more expensive than produce imported from outside of Canada. This is because utility and land costs are often lower outside of Canada. Canadian growers, especially those near large cities, must contend with high production costs in order to meet their yields.
While many environmentalists encourage local diets in order to promote sustainability, this only addresses part of the puzzle of what it means to eat ethically.
Many farms across Canada rely on migrant labour to work physically demanding, and sometimes dangerous, jobs. According to Coleman, it is difficult to find Canadians who are willing to do farm work.
Therefore temporary foreign agricultural workers come from countries where work is scarce to work on farms in Canada for minimum wage. Seasonal agricultural workers have reported substandard living conditions and unfair working conditions, as well as abuse.
Despite the environmental and benefits of eating Ontario produce, ethical questions remain.
Fruit and vegetable costs are highly dependent upon climate and growing conditions. In 2016, the costs of produce spiked in Canada in part as a result of water shortages in California. Because of climate change, fruit and vegetable prices are likely to continue to vary more than ever before.
The impact of rising produce costs is unevenly distributed. A 2016 survey from the University of Guelph Food Institute found that young people, low income households and people with less education are more vulnerable to price fluctuations. People in these groups are likely to stop buying fresh produce if the prices rise.
Environmentally sustainable food can be costly in the form of time and money for both consumers and producers. Sustainability is not a box to check, but rather an ongoing set of considerations that continuously fluctuate.
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Over the last few months, there has been a push by organizations, countries, cities and companies globally to crack down on plastic straws, products that studies show are contributing to the nearly nine million tons of plastic that infect the oceans annually.
With anti-straw advocacy afoot, Canadian restaurants including Harvey’s and Swiss Chalet have announced plans to axe or restrict single-use plastic straws. Ontario universities such as the University of Guelph and Western University are eagerly ridding their campuses of the utensils.
While corporations and organizations have largely been in favour of abandoning plastic straws, disability advocates have pushed back against these efforts, citing the importance of plastic straws for people with physical limitations.
There are also groups challenging the movement on environmental grounds, arguing that paper straws, which are being embraced as plastic straws vanish, are accelerating deforestation, the second leading cause of climate change.
When asked about McMaster’s stance on the plastic straw debate, Chris Roberts, director of McMaster Hospitality Services, said the university is also considering a plastic straw ban. However, MHS will not commit until it engages in nuanced discussions about the effects of a plastic straw ban on stakeholders including students who need them for accessibility reasons.
“It is important for us to take a strategic approach through the understanding of impacts to all stakeholders as opposed to making a reactive decision,” said Roberts.
In a statement on the MHS website, Roberts outlines limitations to a plastic straw ban and stresses the importance of consultations with the McMaster Students Union and Equity and Inclusion Office.
“We need to take into consideration all of the stakeholders in the customer base, including those who rely on straws as a result of physical limitations. We need to fully understand the broader systemic sustainability issue and how a more holistic approach may have a greater impact for our customers, community and environment,” reads part of the statement.
Stephanie Bertolo, MSU vice president (Education), says the union appreciates Robert’s commitment to considering the needs of marginalized students on campus.
"The MSU supports the university's efforts to become more environmentally sustainable but asks them to do the proper consultation to ensure their initiatives do not interfere with the accessibility of our campus,” she said.
The EIO’s stance on the issue is notably similar to the MSU’s.
“We are pleased to see that Hospitality Services is expressing mindfulness and consideration of the implications on multiple stakeholders and that there is explicit mention of plans to consult with particular marginalized communities,” said Arig al Shaibah, associate vice president at the EIO.
Unlike at Guelph and Western, where there have been vocal pro-straw-ban voices, the movement has not gained the same traction at McMaster. This is evidenced by the fact that there has not been a #StrawsSuck campaign here, at least not a visible one online.
According to Abbie Little, the coordinator of academic sustainability at the McMaster academic sustainability programs office, however, in the SUSTAIN 2S03 and 3S03 courses, discussions about plastic straws were polarized.
Mohammad Abdul Aziz, a Teaching Assistant for the 3S03 course, says there were quite a few ardent pro-ban students in his classroom.
“From my understanding, students were more than welcome to the idea of banning straws,” said Aziz. “Students believed that eco-friendly practices are not adopted in one fell swoop but need minor introductions to the consumers of multi-national corporations.”
While it looks like a straw ban will not be implemented at McMaster, Roberts did not say the university is committed to the status quo indefinitely. Only time, research and MSU and EIO consultations will tell what lies in store for the future of plastic straw users on campus.
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On Nov. 6, Hamilton’s newest café, The Nook, opened its doors to the sleepy part of Bold Street just off James Street south. Those familiar with the area likely know the café’s location: a tiny space that has stood — or at least looked to be — vacant in recent history. With a dark exterior and darker windows, the spot was so uninteresting one could almost skip over seeing it without realizing a building was there.
But Suad Abukamla saw 6 Bold Street as the place for her vision to come alive. Over the course of almost a year and a half, she and a group of friends slowly transformed the space, breathing new life and a vibrant slick of yellow paint onto its previously black-walled interior.
“When I saw things coming [together] I knew I couldn’t stop because I had already started and I wanted to finish,” she said, explaining that even when she was overwhelmed, she felt motivated to keep working. “Because I was doing the design by myself so I had to do the research, and look up ideas from here and there and what’s next, what’s going to match.”
Abukamla handpicked, designed or made every part of her business, from the lighting, to the exact shade of yellow on the walls, to the tables, which she built herself from a pile of scrap lumber left by the former owners. The chandelier that hangs from the middle of the ceiling took months to find, and she looked in five different cities to find the perfect fabric for the chair cushions.
“I needed the colours to match; the grey, the yellow and the yellow is very sensitive. So then we finished Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Brantford and then we just had St. Catharines, the last city we were going to go to. And I was like, ‘okay I’m not leaving St. Catharines without fabric,’” she said, laughing. “I like details.”
In addition to Abukamla’s requirement that the café’s aesthetic translate exactly as she had imagined, she was also keen on making environmental practices central to her business. The Nook’s patrons will only find a garbage bin in the café’s washroom. All the cups, napkins, plastic lids and drink sleeves are either recyclable or biodegradable.
Although Abukamla admits there was no way to entirely eliminate garbage from the renovation process, she intends for the café to reach as close to zero waste as possible. All the construction materials are recycled or eco-friendly, and every business choice has been locally-sourced and to use companies that have environmentally sound practices. Even the coffee is from local roaster Relay.
Abukamla’s attention to detail is impressive on its own, but The Nook is not her only project. She is also in the process of completing her Masters in engineering and public policy at McMaster University, a degree that will further the work she used to do with the women’s rights and advocacy branch of the United Nations. She hopes to combine all these skills to encourage social change within Hamilton and inspire more women to pursue their goals.
“I was the Advocacy and Information Officer [for the UN] and we were supporting security and economic projects for women and I was always telling women… [even though] there were times when they would get overwhelmed, [they] are always super,” she said. “They can multi-task. They will do it. They will succeed.”
To facilitate this change within the city, Abukamla is in the process of creating a system for non-profit organizations and community groups to use The Nook’s space, free of charge, after the café closes for the day. These groups can use the space for fundraising, community outreach, meetings, volunteer appreciation or even as a meeting space for book clubs.
“Even in school, in my program, a lot of people are creative and they have innovative ideas,” Abukamla explained. “Just take the next step.”
Abukamla is grateful to the community and support network she has befriended in Hamilton.
“I have unique friends. I always call them my unique friends. They give me the right advice. They give me the right help.… Find the right people, stick with them and have a mentor all the time.”
As the semester draws to a close, Abukamla, like any other student, is likely swamped with final projects and papers. But she still finds time to celebrate her accomplishments.
“I am proud,” she said. “I’m happy because [despite] how long it took me to work in this café, everything in this space has a story behind it… it’s just… I can’t express my feelings. But it’s enough to be proud.”
A nook is a space that holds multiple meanings: safety, comfort, a place to relax. The Nook aspires to be all those things and empower individuals to create the change they wish to see in their city. And with an owner like Abukamla behind every detail of the business, it is likely to do just that.
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By: William Alexander
Permanent compost bins will soon be installed in McMaster University Student Centre thanks to the efforts of a coalition between the McMaster Students Union’s Sustainability Education Committee and an independent project for a third-year sustainability course.The coalition has already met with MUSC’s administrator and has secured a grant from the Student Life Enhancement Fund to finance the project. They plan on installing the new bins at the beginning of the new year.
Currently, MUSC is serviced by temporary green compost bins. These were provided by members of the project to allow for composting in the interim, and have been dutifully emptied and sorted by members of the project since late October.
Fiona McGill, chair of MSU Sustainability Education Committee, explained that sorting the compost bins has been no easy task.
“People just see an open bin and they throw stuff in there,” she said. To confront the problem, a sign has since been added to the temporary bins reminding students that plastic is not compostable. As of Nov. 13, responsibility for the bins has changed hands to the custodial staff as members of the group reach the end of their pilot project’s term.
Permanent compost bins existed in MUSC in the past, but were removed in the last student centre renovation in 2016 and were never replaced.
“Lots of student groups tried to [implement bins] in the past, but they weren’t successful,” said Alicia Giannetti, a member of the project.
By meeting with several members of the administrative staff within the university, her group managed to finally get the bins approved.
The independent project is an assignment for a third year course titled Implementing Sustainable Change. In a course report from last year, Academic Sustainability Programs senior manager Kate Whalen wrote that the course encourages “interdisciplinary, community-based, student-led, and experiential education related to sustainability”. The project itself encourages students to go out into the community and find a way to make a positive difference for sustainability.
The bins will be financed with part of a $15,000 fund provided to the Sustainability Education Committee by the Student Life Enhancement fund last year. The coalition also plans on printing infographics informing students how to properly sort their compost. As for the remaining sum, McGill said that the committee is “looking for student input on how it should be spent.”
When asked about the future of the initiative, Giannetti replied that her team hoped that after the MUSC bins are installed they can expand and implement compost bins across campus. McGill added that they “would love to get more student groups on board.” They emphasized that improving sustainability can sometimes be a long process, but they hope that their success will motivate other groups to take action at further encouraging sustainability at McMaster.
“[I] love to work with other groups on campus dedicated to sustainability,” said McGill. She can be reached at sustainability@msu.mcmaster.ca
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