BEYOND ORGANIC: GREENING YOUR FARM TO CAFETERIA PROGRAM

Biobased Food Service Ware -Considerations & Implementation Tips

Photo courtesy BPI

•Problems with Disposables •Biobased Food Service Ware•Oregon Biobased Food Service Ware Pilot•Considerations and Tips For Implementation

Presentation Objectives

Going the Distance and Shortening It!4th National Farm to Cafeteria ConferenceMarch 20, 2009

Arielle TozierProgram Assistant

Oregon Center for Environmental Health

Problems with Disposables Deplete resources End up in landfills, incinerators or oceans,

causing harm to humans and environment Contribute to global warming Manufacturing, shipping & disposal

contribute to air and water pollution Release toxic chemicals into environment

through production, use, & disposal May contaminate food from leaching

chemicals

Problems with Plastic Petroleum non-renewable

resource Recycling problematic Light weight – easily

becomes litter Persists in the environment Absorbs other persistent

pollutants Toxic chemicals associated

with manufacture, use, and disposal

Photo Courtesy of Best Life Online

Photo courtesy of The Ferris Files

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Biobased Food Service Ware Alternative to conventional plastic Derived wholly or in part from renewable forestry and agricultural resources:

Trees Corn Potatoes Wheat Sugar cane waste (bagasse) Perennial grasses Tapioca

Close the loop if compostedPhoto courtesy BPI

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Benefits of Composting Biobased Food Service Ware Facilitate composting

food-scrap and non-recyclable paper

Reduce volume of waste going to landfills and incinerators

May reduce reliance on fossil fuels

Revitalize farming and rural communities

Achieve overall improvements in human health and environmental quality Photo courtesy of Cedar Grove Composting

HCWH Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Hierarchy

Raw materials used Compostability Impacts of conventional

forestry and agricultural production

Chemical additives Use of GMO Use of nanomaterials Marine pollution

HCWH Purchasing Hierarchy for Food Service Ware:

Environmental Performance Across Life Cycle:

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Composting & Biobased Food Service Ware in Portland Hospitals

1989 Styrofoam ban – but Hospitals exempt

Availability of composting system

Disposable food service ware widely used in hospitals

Oregon Hospitals Biobased Service Ware Pilot 2006 Biobased Food Ware &

Composting Workgroup Representatives from 6

hospitals Baseline Survey:

Products Quantity Waste

Obtained samples and conducted initial screening Sustainability Cost performance

Food Ware Pilots Cutlery

Potato Corn

Clamshells Sugarcane PLA (corn) PLA (corn & other

blend)

Results Customer surveys:

high support no major performance issues

3 hospitals substituted: polystyrene bowls and plates with sugarcane

bowls and plates 1,653,000 items per year

polystyrene trays with 100% recycled paper trays 54,000 items per year

2 hospitals allocated additional funds 1 hospital using complete suite of

biobased products

Considerations and Tips for Implementation

Product information and availability Allergies not an issue Obtaining product information can be

challenging Additives - Not easy to ascertain

Industry is growing rapidly – be wary of green-washing Ask questions

Cost Partner hospitals addressed cost by:

Reducing use of disposables Putting items behind the counter

Charging premium for take-out Reducing waste haul fees through compost programs

Considerations and Tips for Implementation

Composting - Biobased materials do not provide as many benefits if they are not composted Not all certified compostable Not backyard compostable Not all composting facilities are the same

Ask about shredded products composting more quickly Request manufacturer-distributor arrangement to return used biobased materials for composting Compost shredding and dewatering can reduce waste and water costs

Considerations and Tips for Implementation Education and

Outreach Contamination of

recycling Confusion over what

to dispose of where Institutional Buy-in/

Support Include this as part

of your overall sustainability plan

Resources Oregon Center for Environmental Health –

www.oregon-health.org.org Health Care Without Harm –

www.noharm.org/food/issue Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative –http://www.sustainablebiomaterials.org Green Guide For Healthcare –

www.gghc.org