Overflowing trash cans, cardboard milk containers, Styrofoam bowls—a distressing sight for the environmentally-conscious, but for Aaron C. Fallon ’11 and Iris W. Tian ’11, this scene at Fly-By last fall marked an epiphany.

In search of a topic for their final project for Environmental Science and Public Policy 10: “Environmental Policy.” Fallon and Tian teamed up with classmate Phillip Y. Zhang ’12. Together, they sought to fix what Tian calls the most environmentally unfriendly component of Harvard University Dining Services: their grab-and-go lunch service.

Fallon, Tian, and Zhang sent their term paper to HUDS spokeswoman Crista Martin, but with no guarantee that the University would act on any of their recommendations. Spring and summer passed with little word from HUDS.

But two weeks into the fall term, Martin sent the group an e-mail informing them that some of their report’s proposals had been implemented and inviting them to have a look. The report’s authors expect that the adopted proposals—which replace many non-recyclable, non-compostable goods with versions better for the environment—will reduce Fly-By’s trash levels by 90 percent and cut 29,353 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

‘HORRIBLE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT’

Created in 1998, Fly-By is an upperclassmen-only self-service lunch program that serves an average of 550 people per day in Loker Commons, according to Martin. HUDS Executive Director Ted A. Mayer says he designed Fly-By to help students who were having difficulty getting lunch because of their schedules or the location of their Houses.

“It was really neat to have a grab-and-go solution, a very basic bag meal of a sandwich, fruit, chips, and a drink,” Martin says. “It’s evolved a lot over time.”

Over the years, HUDS even expanded Fly-By to include hot entrees. But the burgeoning lunch line was serving up more than just food. In their report, Fallon, Tian, and Zhang estimate that of Harvard’s annual greenhouse gas emissions produced by solid waste, 1.4 percent—32,614.4 pounds of carbon dioxide—came from Fly-By last year.

“None of the materials with which Fly-By food is served are recyclable or compostable,” they write in their report. “Even if students take their Fly-By lunch to go as they should, their waste will head directly to landfills.”

They trace the problem to several non-recyclable, non-compostable components of Fly-By: the plastic wrap on sandwiches, the cups and lids that were used for drinks and soups, and the Styrofoam containers used for entrees.

Tian is perhaps the most outspoken of the report’s authors. The only Environmental Science and Public Policy concentrator of the three, she avoids Fly-By because of environmental concerns and still makes time to return to Currier House for lunch in between classes.

“To some degree, any environmentally aware student knows that Fly-By is just horrible for the environment, ‘cause you go in there, you take all these plastic utensils, napkins, cups,” she says. “There were tiny little water bottles that were very small, so I would take three water bottles and then we’d be throwing them away.”

LET THE RESEARCH BEGIN

Mayer has worked with ESPP 10 for three years on different projects related to HUDS and sustainability. The first year, students attempted to develop a way to rate food based on environmental friendliness. The next year, they worked with vendors to improve food sustainability. Last year, their project was about how to effectively communicate HUDS’ sustainability efforts.

Fallon, Tian, and Zhang picked Fly-By for their project because of their exposure to HUDS in the course, the impact Fly-By has on student life, and Fallon and Tian’s observation of high trash levels. Zhang, who is also on the Crimson business board, was a freshman when he took the course and could not use the service at the time.

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.

“I don’t believe in Fly-By,” she says. “I go back to Currier, and I’m back in time for my 1:00 class. And I think going to Fly-By and using all these disposable things just creates so much waste.”

But, she says, she understands why some students still frequent Fly-By.

“I still think that it would be better if we got rid of Fly-By altogether, but I understand that from HUDS’ perspective and Harvard’s perspective that that’s something a lot of students would complain about,” she says. “It would be hard for that small number of students who really can’t eat lunch and don’t want to get Greenhouse [Café food] every single day because it’s expensive.”

Martin says that HUDS selected the solution that allowed Fly-By to continue operating with the most sustainable practices.

But Mayer is leaving the door open on any potential future changes to Fly-By.

“I think it’s great,” he says. “Does that mean that there aren’t some tweaks that could satisfy you, the student body, that are reasonable? Of course not.”

—Staff writer Naveen N. Srivatsa can be reached at srivatsa@fas.harvard.edu.