Extra cost of biodegradable packaging a nuisance

I have to admit that I do like eating the $8 salads at Core in the student union, which I frankly cannot afford, being the broke college student that I am. I am mildly annoyed lately by the new 20 cent add on for the biodegradable salad box. Don’t get me wrong; I’m all about saving the planet, but for an extra 20 cents a pop on an already strapped budget, it really adds up. I personally don’t eat out but once a week; however, some students eat at the union every day, two to three meals a day.

Consider just one student that may really like those $8 salads and eats there once a day all this semester. That’s $1.40 per week to save the planet, or $22.44 including tax per semester. That’s nearly three more $8 salads that said cash-strapped college student could have eaten. Not to mention, as any business major could tell you, this is most likely not a charitable effort on the part of Core, which, it seems, is operated by the student union. They are making a profit here.

Instead of pushing the extra cost on the customer, why not prove that the student union is an environmentally conscious business and suck up the extra cost of the biodegradable box while letting current and possible future customers know of their efforts instead of asking me each time I order my salad, “”How much do you love the planet today?””

Candice Eaton

Ecology and evolutionary biology junior