Plates made out of tapioca. Cups made from sugar. Tableware made from potatoes.
Two years ago, West Virginia University’s department explored ways to provide at University events disposable products made from plants and other renewable resources.
At commencement that year, Dining Services staff laid out plates, cups, napkins and utensils that may only have been distinguished from their petroleum-based counterparts through cards on the table notifying guests that these were environmentally friendly products.
Of the 20,000 people who used the unconventional tableware that weekend, very few complained.
Since that time, the number of sustainable materials offered for catering events has continued to grow, said Brad Messenger, who oversees WVU’s Culinary Creations.
Today, approximately 70 percent of disposable products provided at catered WVU events are sustainably made, whether through the absence of chemicals such as chlorine in napkins, or through the use of PLAs, or polylactides, the plant-extract polymers that are forming the next generation of plastics.
“I think more and more of the reputation of schools is promoted by their sustainability initiatives, and I think that will have a lot to do with kids making the decision on what school they’re going to,” said Kathy Curtin, assistant director for Residential Dining at WVU. “I think that will increase in importance.”
Messenger is always getting samples of the latest products touted as eco-friendly. Not all are created equal. And not all will work here.
“When we started looking at this stuff, we decided on three different things that we needed to have the plates and cups do for us,” he said. “They had to be where we needed in price. Two, we had to look at the aesthetics of it. And the third thing was, ‘Will it hold up?’”
Plates that fold under the weight of hors d’oeuvre or melt from heat aren’t considered. But as sustainable disposable dining ware becomes more popular, there have been a greater variety of products to choose from, Messenger said.
You might not initially be able to pick out the sustainable from the petroleum-based plastics, but there are ways to tell the difference. Some have PLA emblazoned on the bottom. Others bear the labels of eco-conscious companies such as Ecotainer, NatureWorks and TaterWare. Some are paper products. In the case of coffee cups, the heat-resistant liner is made of sugar instead of a petroleum base. The tapioca plates are blue.
Messenger says these products aren’t always perfect. Some are more recyclable than others. Some biodegrade in the ground. Others would have to go to an industrial processor to degrade quickly.
The most sustainable way, of course, to host a dinner is to provide washable plates. So the Mountainlair is trying to use china for every meal held there.
Beyond catering, WVU’s group of coffee shops has adopted a variety of PLA packaging and cups for the grab-and-go items they sell.
Coffeehouse manager Jay Capron said that by using a PLA sheet or bag for sandwiches and fruits and vegetable packages, his office is relying on renewable resources and still keeping food and beverages cost-effective.
The coffee shops on campus—the Brew ‘n Gold Caf� at the Evansdale Residential Complex, Eliza’s at the Downtown Library, and Cavanaugh’s at the Health Sciences Center—also have PLA and paper cups, PLA straws and salad or sandwich containers, and wood coffee stirrers.
Most dining locations on campus have Green Seal-certified chlorine-free paper napkins that are dispensed from containers that make it harder to take excess napkins.
WVU Dining has been sustainable in other ways for years. The University donates excess food to charities, takes cooking oil to a biodiesel processor and made four of its five dining halls trayless, which during a week’s comparison showed that one of the trayless dining halls had a 42-percent reduction in waste compared to one with trays. Culinary Creations is using biodegradable trash bags.
Curtin said she’d like to continue to explore the pricing and cost effectiveness of green cleaning supplies as well as the purchasing of more locally and sustainably grown food.
Curtin says that sustainability gained momentum at WVU about three years ago when Director of Sustainability Clement Solomon was hired and he formed a sustainability committee, which is made up of a diverse array of employees throughout the University.
Solomon said that as Dining Services adopts more sustainable practices, the University community benefits in multiple ways.
“By adopting sustainable dining practices, we are not only able to reduce food waste but also lower utility costs, reduce solid waste, contribute to local charities, and support businesses,” Solomon said.
For more information on WVU’s sustainability efforts, go to: http://wecan.wvu.edu/
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By Diana Mazzella
University Relations/News
CONTACT: Kathy Curtin, WVU Dining Services
304-293-2096, kathy.curtin@mail.wvu.edu
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.