Green ‘Dish Storm’ Sweeps Lowell House

Lowell House residents emptied their rooms of illicit stashes of plates, cups, silverware, and even the occasional salt shaker last night as part of the one-day “Operation Dish Storm”—an initiative aimed at recovering dining hall property that had made its way into student suites over the course of the year.

Lowell’s Resource Efficiency Program representative (REP), Susan E. DeWolf ’10, launched the initiative as part of an effort to bring the Green Cup—for the most environmentally conscious House—to Lowell for the second consecutive year. Cabot and Lowell tied for the victory last year.

DeWolf and others involved placed bins in each entryway on Sunday afternoon, and resident tutors sent out e-mails to encourage students to return their dishware. By Sunday night, the bins were full.

Currier REP Karen A. McKinnon ’10 is planning a similar operation for her House within the next few weeks.

McKinnon said that recovering ceramic dishware is important since it reduces the amount of plastic dishware that dining halls subsequently purchase.

In addition to the environmental benefits, Jonathan B. Steinman ’10, the REP for Winthrop, cited the monetary advantages of recovering dishware.

According to Steinman, each place setting costs 22 dollars, adding up to over $100,000­-worth of lost dishware across the 13 dining halls each year.

Last year, Lowell conducted a similar operation that resulted in the return of roughly 60 cups and 30 plates, according to House tutor Patricia L. Villarreal.

Although exact counts for this year’s project have yet to be released, DeWolf estimated that at least 100 pieces of dishware were recovered, significantly more than last year’s total.

Last year, the Cup was the target of inter-House thievery when it was stolen from Cabot House in late April.

The robbery resulted in a flurry of accusations and threats, primarily aimed at Mather, over Cabot’s e-mail list.

The House that wins the Green Cup will receive over a thousand dollars this year. Students can also win prizes of up to $150 for individually sponsored projects.

Current Green Cup standings show Lowell in sixth place, but DeWolf, who is also a Crimson photographer, said that the majority of points have yet to be counted and that any House could take the top spot.

Leverett is currently in the lead in the Green Cup standings.

Steinman, who is also a Crimson sports writer, helped gather dishes in Lowell, but also offered a challenge to residents of his own House: “If Lowell can do it well, there’s no reason Winthrop can’t do it better.”