1 University, 2 Million Disposable Containers Used Each Year.
Monash University | Student research project
In 2022, Monash University students led a research project into reusable container usage.
We found that at our university, students are using a total of 2 million single-use plastic containers a year. That is double the amount of single-use coffee cups that are being used. Yet, coffee-cups get all the attention in resources despite containers being a much bigger issue.
Image: Photo of the containers we used for the trial.
Our method:
We gave 80 containers to students from Monash's Australian campuses
These students came from a variety of different degrees and differetn levels of sustainability experienceStudent completed a survey
The same survey, once a week - for four weeksWe completed a data analysis to identify:
Why students are less likely to use reusable containers
What are the major issues and troublesome vendors
What the university (and beyond) could be doing to minimise this issue.
Note: Participants were split into three groups which were organised on the basis of their sustainability experience. (More details in report below)
What we found
Students noted that they were often surprised at how welcoming some of the vendors were to their containers and that many accepted their container without any issue.
Key takeaway: There needs to be more effort to inform staff and studenst that using a reusable container is an option.
Despite many particpants having good expereinces, we found that these students were all going to similar resturants (notably Wholefoods) whoch already has a culture of reusables. We found that many participants had pretty poor experiences with Halls Cafe and Guzman and Gomez and mix experiences at others.
We found that practice using the containers over the four weeks did not significantly improve confidence using the containers. Instead many students faced push back from vendors during the trial and actually lost some confidence.
Key takeaway: More needs to be done to educate the vendors and create consistency.
Container Trial Report (1).pdfRead the report
Students from four student sustainability teams participated in the organisation of this study. We put in a lot of work and discovered how powerful student-led research can be.
We strongly encourage you to read this report and:
Familiarise yourself with our findings about single-use containers
Act upon these findings
Similarly help support student-led research.
If you have any questions or enquiries, please email the Monash Association of Sustainability, monash.sustain@gmail.com