More than 50 Tufts incoming first-year students are volunteering to help Clean Water Action expand waste-free dining in Jamaica Plain. The students, part of the Tufts
SHAPE program, will be canvassing neighbors and downtown business owners to build awareness of the growing effort to eliminate single-use disposable items in the JP Centre/South Main Street business district.
“We’ve been working with JP Zero Waste and local businesses to build a downtown dining experience that doesn’t include mountains of disposable cups, straws, and to-go containers as part of Clean Water’s ReThink Disposable campaign. Businesses are already instituting “Skip the Stuff” and “BYO cup” policies as well as joining Recirclable and offering free reusable to-go containers for patrons to check out like library books,” said Amber Schmidt, Clean Water Action’s New England Zero Waste Organizer. “The next step is building awareness, so more locals know about this incredible project to eliminate plastic waste, and more businesses know how to join in. We couldn’t ask for better ambassadors than dozens of Tufts students!”
The students will be fanning out around JP restaurants this week, from Aug 29th – Sept 1st.
“The Tufts SHAPE program is an opportunity for incoming first-years to get involved in local civic action and get to know Boston at the same time. This collaboration between Clean Water Action, Tufts, and downtown JP restaurants is a perfect example. Every restaurant we sign-up, and every resident who chooses reusables after talking to a student, makes a measurable impact on stopping waste before it starts,” said Reece Christian, who is the SHAPE Co-Coordinator alongside fellow student Hansini Gundavarapu.
Currently, many JP restaurants are already participating in the Recirclable reusable take-out container program including Jadu, JP Seafood, Gangnam Spice, TK Eats, and Ula Cafe. Customers can borrow a free reusable container and return it to any of the participating