In ongoing attempts to reduce environmental waste, University eateries continue to investigate the feasibility of alternatives to foam take-out containers. Most have either completely or partially eliminated the material from their businesses.
The Great Hall has put some alternatives through a trial run, said Bruce Eckmeder, operations manager for Dining Services, but officials have found a complete switch inconvenient to students.
"Ideally, if you wanted to cut down on the waste problem, you'd always eat off of china. But that's not feasible--you have to have the take-out option," Eckmeder said.
Last year, Dining Services eliminated foam cups and switched from the foam hinge take-out containers to laminated paper containers with heavy plastic lids. Although the switch seems to have proceeded without a hitch, the University found that paper plates could not hold liquids or maintain heat as well. Now the Great Hall offers the options of clear plastic or foam containers.
The Loop has also switched back to foam containers since the beginning of the year. Dennis Lane, a manager at The Loop, said the restaurant tried using plastic containers at the beginning of this year, but has since reverted because the supplier for the entire chain still uses foam.
Lane did point out that the Duke eatery has switched to paper cups and soup containers, while other Loop restaurants still use foam.
Alpine Bagels and Brews has met with more success in switching, said owner Chris Sullivan. He said the eatery easily found paper replacements for foam cups used for cold beverages, cutting its use of foam to half of what it was at this time last year.
He said the company could not use the same paper cups for hot beverages because the eatery would have to either provide two cups per purchase or use paper wrap-arounds to prevent the cups from becoming too hot--alternatives that would be more costly and generate more trash.
"Over the course of this last year, we've tried to go away from Styrofoam," Sullivan said. "We're halfway there, and over the course of the next few months, we hope to be rid of Styrofoam altogether. Now we're just trying to work on cups for the hot side of the deal."
The eatery currently has samples of the "Perfect Touch" cup, a paper cup with polyurethane coating for insulation. Sullivan said the cup, which is 100 percent recyclable, has been taken to Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst for approval.
Other eateries, like the Armadillo Grill, have not switched from foam. The issue is "still in the air," said John Kevin, assistant manager for the Armadillo Grill.
The University's search for foam replacements began in the spring of 1999 under pressure from students concerned about the lack of a foam recycling facility in the Durham area; some students remain interested in the issue.
"We should use washable, reusable containers, especially if we're not going anywhere," said Devyani Kar, a first-year student at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.
Kar said she would never use a foam container, even if one was handed to her.
Most students expressed more indifference. "I think that we should avoid [foam] if at all possible, and I think it's possible," said junior Cara Weber. "If I was in a hurry, I'd take the Styrofoam and leave. I wouldn't even think to ask for something else because it's not something that I normally think about."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.