02/03/2026
Single-use plastics (SUPs) seem to be everywhere. Wrapped around our food, holding our iced coffee, at the buffet line as plates and utensils, stitched into our clothing, and even within our bodies as microplastics. What began as novel material science has become a toxic industry that is harming our health, polluting our planet, and driving climate change.
Approximately 20-million tons of plastic waste is produced worldwide each year, causing a crisis as defined by the United Nations Environmental Program. How to manage the plastic crisis remains elusive, yet the planet cannot sustain this amount of waste being dumped into our oceans, streams, and rivers forever. Action must be taken.
In November of 2021, New York State passed legislation (A7564) requiring the SUNY System Administration along with all SUNY member campuses, such as SUNY Cortland, to develop a plan to eliminate Single-use plastics. Cortland Auxiliary Services was part of the SUNY System-wide task force to develop such policy guidance. As a university, we can understand what plastics are brought onto campus, we can support the recycling of single-use plastics, and we can also develop alternatives to their use.
Tackling the plastic crisis may seem to be a major inconvenience and yet such a small change, is this making a difference? In 2020, the United Nations reported 219-million metric tons of plastic were produced from fossil fuels while only 2-million metric tons were produced from bio-based plastics. Transitioning to alternatives is essential to address the amount of fossil fuels used to supply the plastic industry. On campus, we will be exploring ways to support the re-use / circular economy through reusable water bottles at the water bottle fill stations, donation collections, even reusable coffee mugs. SUNY Cortland is a piece to the giant puzzle helping to tackle the plastic crisis, a trillion dollar industry in the United States alone. To view our progress in reducing our single-use plastic purchasing, check out our progress here. It takes everyone to come together to make a change to benefit our campus, our state, and the planet.