Fork for Thought

Each year Tandem purchases some 8,000 plastic forks to serve our community snacktime, daily lunches, and special events. These polystyrene/polyethylene utensils are single use unless they are washed by hand – the manufacturer of this fossil fuel product does not recommend hot dishwashing as the toxic chemicals could be released. They cannot be effectively recycled because of their size, shape, and material inconsistency. So, they are put into the trash.

In the US, we use some 100 million plastic utensils each day. Plastic utensils take 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill.

We asked members of this community to place their used forks in a collection bin rather than the trash can. Over a few months, we gathered some 1,888 forks which we washed, dried, and arranged in spirals on wooden dowels. These twirling spiral sculptures represent roughly 25% of the forks our community will put into the landfill this year and can be viewed hanging from the branches of the maple tree outside of the Community Hall. Check out photos of the fork spirals in the photos.

We can all do something to help slow down the impact of climate change. Bring your own utensils and save a fork from the landfill.

Julia, Amanda, and MS students