For Miami University seniors, graduation season means confetti, champagne and photoshoots. For horticulturist Megan Croswell, it means hours of clean-up.
Croswell spends an hour each morning picking up littered confetti at Upham Hall, the seal and the sundial. During graduation week, this becomes three or four hours worth of work. While paper confetti eventually breaks down in the spring rain, shiny plastic mylar confetti creates a bigger problem.
“The mylar confetti takes to the wind and is really hard to get a handle on,” said Croswell.
Along with creating a hassle for the physical facilities workers in charge of cleaning up this mess, plastic confetti can threaten Oxford’s environment. Sustainability engagement coordinator Alex Miller said that because this confetti does not break down, it makes its way into sewers and water systems.
Miller said additional concerns include the plastic being eaten by wildlife, and the eventual breakdown of confetti into microplastics. The long term effects of such microplastics on human health are still largely unknown, but potentially widespread. Animals that ingest plastics are unable to process them, causing microplastics to build up in the food chain.
After receiving a few student concerns, Miami’s Associated Student Government (ASG) wanted to give students a cleaner and more sustainable way to celebrate. John Day, the secretary for infrastructure and sustainability, said that ASG collaborated with Miami President Gregory Crawford to purchase water-soluble confetti. This confetti breaks down even faster than other types of biodegradable paper confetti.
“Pretty much everyone thinks the confetti is a nuisance, especially since it stays there forever,” Day said. “So we decided that we wanted to pursue this initiative.”
Together, ASG and Crawford purchased one thousand cups of the biodegradable confetti to be packaged and distributed to students with a goal of influencing students to make their last impact on Miami a sustainable one.
“I understand the point of it, and it’s very exciting for people to graduate and to have cool graduation pictures,” Miller said. “So one of our goals was just to promote the fact that there are better solutions out there.”
However, supply chain difficulties have delayed the confetti’s arrival. Day said he hopes to see the confetti arrive and get into the hands of students before graduation weekend. Regardless of the outcome, the purchased confetti can be utilized during winter graduation ceremonies and next year’s spring graduation season.
“Obviously it’s a negative thing that we couldn’t get it in time, but there also may be a silver lining to it because we can order for the next year. . . and have it in hand [without having to worry] about it getting here in time,” he said.
The confetti would be available to pick up at the Armstrong Student Center information desk. Day also hopes to collaborate with Brick and Ivy so that students can be given a package of the water-soluble confetti upon picking up their cap and gown.
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The confetti will be available in red and white, although Day said they are exploring other color options such as gold. Miller also said their provider, The Confetti Bar, has other options to look into, including confetti poppers and dried flower confetti.
Croswell said the use of water-soluble confetti over plastic mylar would be exciting, and it could potentially cut down waste on campus along with time spent cleaning up.
“It’s awesome,” she said. “If we got rid of the mylar stuff and went with the [water-soluble] stuff, it wouldn’t be an issue.”
As it stands now, clean-up efforts continue in full swing as the water-soluble confetti completes its production and shipment.
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