As part of their research, they collected statistics from HUDS and the Harvard Office for Sustainability. They also conducted focus groups and surveys which found that while most students use Fly-By at least once a week, few actually “fly by,” opting instead to sit in Loker Commons and eat.

Some of the research forced the three to go beyond disciplines within which they were comfortable.

“I don’t know a damn thing about making surveys and what is statistically sound,” Fallon says. “The whole point is that you’re bringing together a lot of academic areas that you don’t know a lot about, but the point of the project was to get knowledge really quickly about a subject and use it.”

Having collected data, they created and compared five plans, ranging from the most radical option of closing Fly-By altogether to a more modest solution, changing how HUDS promotes Fly-By. In their conclusion, they recommended replacing tableware with compostable alternatives, with the ultimate goal of shutting down Fly-By.

TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Martin says that this past spring, HUDS looked at the three students’ report and began the process of figuring out how to implement it. Most of the changes necessary involved simple switches in materials, but others took a little more thought.

“It took some creativity to move the beverages to fountain,” Martin says, referring to drinks now being served out of fountain dispensers rather than in pre-packaged containers. “That was never thought of before.”

The changes came on the heels of a similar switch at Chauhaus, a café at the Graduate School of Design. In January of 2008, HUDS swapped all tableware with compostable versions, and between January and July, according to the 2008 HUDS Sustainability Report, trash levels have plummeted 90 percent.

For Fly-By, HUDS scrapped milk cartons and water bottles, choosing to rely on drink dispensers found in the dining halls. A more environmentally-friendly plastic bag has replaced the transparent version used last year. Styrofoam has disappeared, as have the soup bowls and wax-lined cups. Compostable cups and containers now lie in their stead.

While compostable materials are more expensive, Martin says that the rise in price for materials was offset by the use of fountain beverages. In the end, the total switch was cost-neutral.

GOOD ENOUGH?

Fallon says he was not expecting HUDS to go through with the group’s recommendations.

“I honestly thought that it would not happen at all and that [Martin] was just being friendly,” he says. “It was sort of validating since we spent all this time talking about it, thinking about it, trying to pretend that it was real, and then it did end up being real.”

But now that some of their suggestions have been implemented, will the three authors become regular Fly-By diners?

Zhang says he’s been to Fly-By two or three times since its re-opening this year. But Fallon and Tian say they still choose to avoid it. While Fallon raises culinary objections to Fly-By (“Their food’s not that great,” he says), Tian still refuses to use Fly-By’s throwaway materials—even the more environmentally friendly ones.