As COVID-19 takes the front seat, sustainability falls to the wayside

As COVID-19 takes the front seat, sustainability falls to the wayside

By: Hallie Wiltshire / Assistant Opinion Editor

As we approach month six of quarantine, many people are reflecting on what they miss about life before the pandemic. Some people say they miss going to movie theaters or to indoor restaurants, while others crave social interaction and the ability to be amongst crowds of people. I look forward to a time when people begin to care about their impact on the environment again, but unfortunately, I don’t believe that will happen anytime soon.

There are a great number of disposable products involved in protecting people from becoming ill, many of which are made using plastic materials. If you happen to take a walk down the street, you will see disposable masks, gloves, and plastic bags scattered around, filling up the gutters. We’ve reverted right back to littering; one of the easiest sustainability practices possible has become too much effort for some.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, waste has only increased as we become more reliant on single-use products to protect us from potential contamination. According to Doug Cress, Vice President of Conservation for the organization Ocean Conservancy, an estimated 194 billion face masks and plastic gloves are used and disposed every single month by people worldwide since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Single-use surgical masks, N95 masks, and disposable gloves are all made from synthetic, non-biodegradable materials, which take hundreds of years to decompose. Mask mandates are unlikely to go away anytime soon, since research continues to support that wearing a mask reduces the chance of transmission, meaning that more and more disposable masks will continue to be used daily. 

In addition to masks and gloves, plastic bags have come back with a vengeance as stores encourage the use of these disposable bags in place of reusable ones. Cities and states around the country have instituted plastic bag bans for the past few years, charging people for each bag they use in hopes of encouraging the switch to reusable bags. In California, 500 million plastic bags were being used per month before the ban went into effect in November 2016.

However, when the pandemic hit, lawmakers began to reconsider those bans, as fears of the virus spreading via reusable bags arose. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in April to overturn the ban. The executive order allowing the bags to be used for 60 days expired on June 22, but plastic bags are still widely used. 

I worry that once life has settled back into a new normal, people will be unwilling to change their ways, and the sustainability efforts of the past few years will go to waste. We have returned to an apathetic attitude, the same one that led to the large-scale climate issues we are facing today. This is a dangerous mindset, and we cannot let ourselves fall down this hole again.

People are creatures of habit and at our core, we dislike change. There was uproar from the initial plastic bag bans, and the same individuals who begrudgingly purchased a reusable bag, or those who refused to do so and paid the plastic bag fee, will have little interest in going back. Using disposable products is easier, so people will continue to use them. 

At the start of the Spring 2020 semester, USD Dining introduced the Ozzi Box pilot program, where students could pay $5 to use a reusable meal container instead of the paper or plastic to-go boxes. The continuance of the program was contingent on student participation, and it was implied that low participation would result in the elimination of the program. 

Now with students all studying remotely, it is possible that USD’s efforts towards sustainability will disappear just as they did across the rest of our society. Though limited, USD’s sustainability attempts are important in order to foster an environment that encourages sustainable practices not as the exception but as the norm. This is just one example of a step toward sustainability that is unlikely to return in our post-pandemic world. 

Organizations like USD Dining care more about their profit margins than making ethical and sustainable changes. University programs like Ozzi exist to appease sustainability advocates, not because universities truly care about these issues. If the organizations running these programs don’t benefit financially from sustainable alternatives, they simply won’t offer them anymore. This is the reality of advocating for sustainability in a capitalist society; if there is no monetary incentive, corporations won’t make the change. 

With consumers unwilling to financially support sustainable changes, as with the Ozzi program, corporations will stop doing them. Using a plastic bag is, admittedly, easy. You never have to wash them, remember to grab them before leaving the house, or forget them in your car. However, it is our responsibility as members of a collective society to think beyond just ourselves and our own convenience. 

The resistance to making sustainable changes comes down to human indifference and laziness. Using a reusable bag saves money long-term, but it requires a bit more thought and effort, so people are unwilling to even try. 

In the midst of a global pandemic, worrying about waste and pollution may seem insignificant. People are dying and we should do everything we can to protect ourselves from falling ill or potentially harming others. While this is certainly true, we should also consider the impact our actions have on the environment, just as we did before the pandemic. 

As college students, we are inheriting a world ravaged by climate change. We should all care about sustainability and doing our part to help the planet. 

Climate change is a long-term problem — one that we don’t know the consequences of yet. Making simple changes now could have a considerable impact a decade from now. Purchase at least one reusable mask and use that instead of disposable masks. (Target sells a pack of two masks for $4, they don’t have to be pricey). Instead of using a plastic bag when you go grocery shopping, pack your own groceries in your reusable bags. These are small, easy switches that we can all do. Do better, be better, and do your part to help our planet.

“The views expressed in the editorial and op-ed sections are not necessarily those of The USD Vista staff, the University of San Diego, or its student body.”