UCMC: Food Service
Reusable & Non-Reusable Products: Food Service Ware
Health Issues
Each year, health care institutions purchase billions of pounds of janitorial paper including napkins and other paper products, plastic trash liners, and paper and fossil-fuel based plastic packaging and other disposable food service items. Disposable products provide some benefits to hospitals-ease of use, minimal maintenance and reduced dishwashing needs. Yet, when most of these single-use items leave the facility after use, they are disposed in landfills, incinerated, or pollute the world’s oceans where they can harm humans, wildlife, and the environment and contribute to other negative impacts including depletion of nonrenewable resources, release of greenhouse gas emissions; generation of air and water pollutants from manufacturing, shipping and disposal; introduction of toxic chemicals into the environment during production, use and disposal; and, food contamination through chemicals leaching from packaging and food service ware. Hospitals can help mitigate these impacts by reducing overall use of packaging and other disposable products and by purchasing reusable products or those made from recycled or renewable materials and without use of hazardous chemicals.
UCMC is currently exploring ways in which to reduce it’s food service waste. Specifically, we are in the process of phasing out paper placemats for food trays and we are also in the initial start up phase to reduce styrofoam cup waste by offering a reusable alternative.