Winter break is over and another
semester at Ripon, my last semester, is beginning. Over winter break I went
back to my old job at Panera Bread to work a few hours and make a few paychecks
(I know, college ain’t cheap!). While there I took up my old position as the
environmental captain. This previously had me enforcing recycling practices and
conservation of water and energy throughout the restaurant. I was pleasantly
surprised when I came back to find that the Christmas gift given to the
employees this year was a reusable tumbler that can be used for hot or cold
drinks.
I have always noticed how many coffee cups and plastic cups employees
go through everyday. I often would bring in a reusable water bottle, but if I
wanted coffee or something hot, I would then use a paper cup as well. I thought
giving the employees these versatile tumblers was a great idea! But hardly
anyone was using them! In order to cut down on the waste of employees using so
many cups and to get them to use their tumblers instead I suggested an idea to
the managers. Perhaps they could keep track of the employees who always bring
in their tumbler and those who use the least amount of cups each week get a
free signature drink such as a smoothie or hot chocolate that they would
normally have to pay for. Now, I’m not sure if they will take up that idea, but
at least I got them considering it. While I’m away at school there are a few
others who are in the role of environmental captain at the Panera, one of which
suggested the tumblers in the first place. Hopefully they keep up the great
work!
We go back to school in just a few days and EcoREPS will start up once
more! I’ve got a few ideas in mind for this semester so hopefully we’ll be
impacting the campus and we can be Ripon’s environmental captains!
