USM's efforts in building a healthy campus

From 1st January 2008, the university has formally banned the usage of polystyrene containers throughout the campus. Canteen is no longer preparing any polystyrene containers for take-away food. Instead, students can choose to use biodegradable containers with an additional charge of 20cents. Or, students may also bring their own reuseable container if insist to take away food. This actually can cause certain degree of troubles to students. However, we still should look at this matter from the long-term perspective. Polystyrene containers are non-biodegradable. The usage of them on today can cause serious problems to the future generation. Additional 20cents each meal is worth for saving the earth before it is too late. We should not have the idea to throw the responsibility to protect the earth to others, thinking that our actions have no significant effect to the earth. A little inconveniece should not be outweighed by the well-being of community. It is wise for USM to make this decision. A healthy campus should be viewed from many different aspects. Not just having students with healthy life style, but also have students to adopt environmental friendly practices.