Food vendors cut out foam at UH-Manoa

The University of Hawaii at Manoa’s food vendors are now serving up eats and drinks in containers free of polystyrene foam.

The green-minded push to get virtually nonbiodegradable cups and containers out of dining areas is mostly student-driven, said Doorae Shin, a student liaison to UH-Manoa’s sustainability council.

Last year, with help from the Surfrider Foundation, more than 1,000 signatures were collected on a petition calling for food vendors to stop using expanded polystyrene foam products.

And at the start of the 2013-14 school year, the university began phasing in the foam-free policy.

With the exception of athletic concession stands, all of Sodexo’s vendors — Hale Aloha and Gateway cafes, The Market, Ba-Le and all retail dining locations in Campus Center — have scrapped poly. Jamba Juice ditched its foam cups last summer. Nationwide the chain is now opting for a durable paper cup.

Shin said plastic-based polystyrene is among of the most commonly found litter collected in shoreline cleanups, and poses threats to marine life. She added that foam products are "almost never recyclable."

"It also breaks up easily, making it easy to fly away, harder to clean up and easy for animals to ingest," Shin said.

Polystyrene foam products are often mistaken for Styrofoam, which is used for building insulation, according to the Dow Chemical website. The company says "there isn’t a coffee cup, cooler or packaging material in the world made from actual Styrofoam."

Donna Ojiri, director of operations for Sodexo, said that because biodegradable containers are heavier than those made from polystyrene, they cost about twice as much. Even so, Ojiri said, she doesn’t mind paying extra because "it’s the right thing to do."

Andy Lachman, UH-Manoa Food Services manager, said in an email interview that most of its vendors have lowered profit margins in order to accommodate the containers. He said it’s possible that vendors might raise prices to offset the additional costs.

Shin said there are vendors on campus that still use polystyrene containers because current contracts allow them to. According to the policy, vendors must agree to use alternatives to EPS foam only when they renew or start a new contract. Some of the vendors, Shin said, have "many years" left on their existing contracts.

Lachman said most vendors that fall under Food Services — vendors that don’t accept meal plans — have voluntarily stopped using polystyrene products. Both L&L Hawaiian Barbecue locations, India Cafe and Panda Express are still using polystyrene.

The L&L at Paradise Palms Cafe is due for a contract renewal June 30. The chain’s eatery in the athletics complex is up for renewal in June 2015.

India Cafe’s contract ends in June 2016.

Lachman said Panda Express’ contract ends in June 2017, but the eatery is "moving to a more sustainable product, but does not yet fully meet the requirements of the EPS foam ban."

Last semester, food vendors also stopped distributing plastic bags, some opting for paper bags instead. To help ease the transition for students, Food Services distributed free reusable bags last fall to provide them with an alternate method for transporting food.

In addition, table tops and chairs inside Campus Center’s food court were replaced with dining furniture made from recyclable materials. The residential dining halls went trayless, which Ojiri said saves water and reduces food waste.

Among other sustainability plans in the works, Lachman said, Food Services and its vendors are investigating ways to use more local products and "exploring an exciting farm-to-fork concept for our campus."

Shin said UH-Manoa approved a strategic energy plan in October 2012 that includes a goal of providing 25 percent of campus energy with renewable sources by 2020. The campus endeavored to cut down energy use by 30 percent in 2012 but fell short of that goal, Shin said.

The strategic plan aims to establish the campus as entirely self-sufficient in energy and water use by 2050.

While some of the plan’s goals are "pretty unrealistic," Shin maintains it is important to continue stepping up sustainability efforts.