Green Tip Tuesday: Single Use Plastics Elimination
As announced in the Daily Flyer on Earth Day, in March 2021, Governor Northam signed Executive Order 77: Virginia Leading by Example to Reduce Plastic Pollution and Solid Waste, which requires all state agencies, including institutions of higher education to cease buying, selling, and distributing single-use plastic and polystyrene food service containers, single-use plastic straws and cutlery, disposable plastic bags, and single-use plastic water bottles by July 21, 2021.
The order also calls for agencies to phase-out the use of all other single-use plastics by 2025. This order is a positive step toward making our whole Commonwealth cleaner and our economy more sustainable. More detailed information on the order is available on the Virginia DEQ site.
A VCCS team working on the plan to respond to DEQ and EO77 includes NOVA’s Rob Johnson, our Director of Sustainability and Auxiliary Services, and other leaders across the VCCS. The team is working to collect data so the system office can report to DEQ for all colleges in one document. The team is also reviewing alternatives to items on the list and will work with Shared Services Center (SSC) to find sources for these alternatives. SSC has reviewed contracts to identify those that involve single use plastics and is planning to start issuing contract modifications in coordination with college contract administrators.
How does EO 77 affect day-to-day life at NOVA?
NOVA is ahead of the curve on sustainability initiatives as our Food Service contracts awarded in May 2020 already include much of the same language as the Executive Order. Through Rob Johnson’s sustainability leadership, the college has already begun the process of transitioning away from polystyrene (Styrofoam) and single-use plastics to reusable, biodegradable, and compostable serveware, utensils, and other materials.
NOVA’s Auxiliary Services department is actively working with Barnes and Noble, Coke, and Gilly Vending to address all items in the Executive Order. We anticipate that many changes will be in place by the Fall 2021 semester. In the bookstores, Barnes and Noble will transition to paper bags and new cups and packaging types in the cafés. Compostable or biodegradable straws will be available only by request in the cafeterias and bookstore cafés.
Plastic water bottles will be phased out starting July 2021. NOVA will transition from plastic water bottles to canned water in the cafeterias and bookstores (note that there are water bottle filling stations in most NOVA buildings where you can refill your reusable container).
Single-use plastic bags (i.e., grocery bags) on campus will be eliminated in July 2021.
After July 21, 2021, NOVA may not purchase any single use plastics that are on the EO77 list. There is an exception for medical programs and labs (biology, chemistry, automotive, etc.). Employees who are responsible for medical programs and labs should look for replacement items when feasible.
Contracts for services such as custodial and waste/recycling may require negotiation or modification to include EO77 guidelines.
Note, NOVA will continue to use its inventory of single use plastics until those items are depleted and then replace them with alternatives.
More information is available on our website here and as part of the College’s Single-Use Plastic Reduction Strategy.
As NOVA’s Director of Sustainability and Auxiliary Services, Rob Johnson is the main point of contact for the College for both college efforts and as part of the VCCS team to address the future phases of the Executive Order. He can be reached by at rojohnson@nvcc.edu.
Submitted by:
Rob Johnson, ROJohnson@nvcc.edu