From THE EDMONTON JOURNAL:
The University of Alberta is aiming to completely eliminate the use of polystyrene food containers on campus to further enhance sustainability.
It's one small part of a wide-ranging plan adopted at the end of August that lays a framework of change at all of its campuses.
Shannon LeBlanc, sustainability coordinator, said the biggest challenge was hearing from all of the stakeholders, with more than 600 people taking part in the consultation process.
"There were so many different perspectives being brought to the table, which is ultimately what we really tried to capture in the plan," LeBlanc said. "It was a challenge and the exciting part of it."
As part of the university's push for a greener environment and to lessen its carbon footprint, a sustainable food working group was established in March to explore opportunities in growing food in under-utilized spaces around campuses, creating new community gardens and the possibility of planting edible landscapes.
"As part of the consultation, we heard from a lot of people would love to see things like fruit trees or berry bushes on campus so that people could walk by and grab an apple," she said.