Ecologic Foodservice Solutions

Take a second and think about all the elements that go into the efficient administration and operation of a hospital. Go on. I am waiting. Did eco-friendly disposables come into your mind? Probably not. However, at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut, hospital management and staff made a big leap in reducing our collective carbon footprint and eliminating the health risks associated with using plastic disposables.

Hospitals typically go through hundreds of thousands of cups, plates, bowls and other disposable products every year. St. Vincent's reported a staggering 1,194,000 cups were used and tossed each year. This waste adds up -- particularly when the items in question are made of polystyrene foam, more commonly known as Styrofoam.

In an effort to reduce public health problems and help create and maintain a greener world, hospitals countrywide are phasing out products made of plastic foam, which resists biodegradation and is not always accepted by recycling programs.

 

Quick-service restaurants with Seattle locations are well aware the city's "foam ban" goes fully into effect July 1. That means throw-away packaging can no longer be made of expanded polystyrene and must be either recyclable or compostable.

Many restaurants in California and Washington already comply with bans of expanded polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam; the Seattle ordinance is the first to require single use food service products to be compostable or recyclable.  A number of California municipalities have also banned polystyrene products. 

Restaurants have had two years to develop a plan to comply with the latter portion of the law, and some chains are better prepared than others. Many, like McDonald's, have switched to products with recycled content but have not made the change to recyclable of compostable products.  Subway changed to recyclable service ware last year starting with their coffee cups.  

Compostable plates are the perfect option for entertaining in an eco-friendly way. These disposables are not only made from earth-friendly materials like sugarcane, leaves and bamboo but they can also be composted for nutrient laden soil. Learn more about the advantages of compostable plates.

Disposable plates can certainly make cleaning up after a party easy and convenient. Moreover, for parties where small kids would be around, they eliminate the risk of breakages. Unfortunately, since most disposable plates are made from plastic and Styrofoam, they do not decompose or degrade making them not the best choice for the environment. This is where green living enthusiasts can choose compostable plates which are both disposable and degradable. Here is more on the advantages of compostable plates — learn how to make your next party a green and clean affair.

 

From hybrid cars to Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” the pro-environmental movement has become a mainstream sensation. The quest to go green has entered the health care industry, with hospital materials management executives at the helm of many changes.

By purchasing eco-friendly materials, hospitals have the unique opportunity to support environmental health as they care for patient health. Going green means adopting policies that preserve the environment.

Mary Crawford, associate director of procurement and supply chain management for Duke University and Duke University Health System, says, “Greening is never ending. It takes tiny, tiny steps and makes such a huge impact. The small changes hospitals make to go green create significant environmental benefits such as conserved water and limited toxic waste.”

In hospital materials management, going green is purchasing environmentally preferable products. It encompasses everything from buying coffee mugs instead of disposable cups to choosing alternatives to mercury products.

The health care industry is flooded with product options detrimental to the environment. Hazardous chemicals, plastics made with PVC/DEHP, products containing mercury, disposable items and food with antibiotics or added hormones are all products with environmentally preferable alternatives.

 

EPA studies conducted in the 1980s showed that 100% of Americans have Styrene in their bodies. Since Styrene is used in all kinds of applications, including injecting it directly into foods to preserve their shelf life, we are all exposed without our knowledge.

More testing is not the answer, though. When you look at what is already known, banning polystyrene now makes a lot of sense. 15% of all litter in urban areas is polystryrene. It is the second most common form of man-made debris on our beaches. Cleaning up polystyrene litter costs California taxpayers billions of dollars each year. What isn't collected in clean-ups gets widely distributed in the environment. Birds, fish, filter feeding marine organisms, and other animals mistake it for food. Many seabirds are dying of starvation with stomachs full of plastic." Worker and consumer health is also at risk.

Polystyrene (Styrofoam^™) may seem like a cheap convenient material, but that is because its true costs to health and our environment are borne by others, including taxpayers and consumers. California must ban polystyrene take-out food containers. They are not recyclable, and safer, more sustainable alternatives are available.

A great piece on Gotham Greens, the latest and most innovative rooftop farm in Brooklyn NYC- founded in part by a great college friend Ms Jennifer Nelkin.

In this state-of-the-art, two million dollar, climate-controlled greenhouse you will find growing leaf and vine crops (including arugula, butterhead lettuce, basil and bok choy, among others) emerging from tiny sponges made of fibers spun from volcanic basalt. Water is re-circulated constantly to ensure that a cap of only 700 gallons is used daily (a mere tenth of that used in conventional farming). Gotham's specially-designed hydroponic methods save land, save water, eliminate agricultural runoff and chemical pesticides, and offer the benefits of efficient, high-yield, local food production. Such methods ensures control over plant nutrition, for optimal flavor and the "highest quality produce available."

Packaging does more than just protect produce. It also conveys a message about a company’s sustainability efforts.
Consumers are driving the movement toward biobased packaging, said Lawrence Ohlman III, director of operations, for EcoLogic Foodservice Solutions, Toledo, Ohio.
“People that buy produce … they’re all about health and wellness, but at the same time a lot of products they’re purchasing are packaged in Styrofoam,” Ohlman said. “A lot of fruit packaging is unsustainable. ... It’s made from oil and causes a lot of waste.”
EcoLogic has a new line of sustainable fresh produce trays that it plans to begin distributing by March.
The line of more than 20 designs is 100% biobased, Ohlman said. It’s manufactured from reclaimed plant waste, which can include fibers from sugar, corn, hemp and bamboo.

It took 15 years to do it, but San Francisco has finally reached the arbitrary milestone of collecting one million tons of compostable organic waste. While San Francisco has been a leader in the composting world for the last two decades, the pounds really started rolling in back in 2009 when the city enacted the nation’s most strict regulations on composting, requiring all businesses and residences to collect and separate compostable waste. It’s part of the city’s effort to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill almost completely by 2020.

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The Northwest Ohio Green Products Center is a regional and collaborative effort among several partnering organizations. At NWOGPC you can find helpful resources, technical assistance and business expertise to guide green procurement processes. The center is a resource to regional entrepreneurs or established manufacturers who currently produce, or plan to produce, green or biobased products. Northwest Ohio serves as a prime location for continued green product development and is an emerging leader in alternative energy, biobased product companies such as EcoLogic Foodservice Solutions LLC . Coupled with a unique manufacturing base and strong agricultural presence, Ohio is poised for leadership in multiple BioPreferred Categories.

Since 2003, Veggie U has been committed to changing these trends by reaching out to teachers and children across the country. Located in Milan, Ohio, Veggie U is a national not-for-profit organization that offers an Earth to Table™ science curriculum to fourth grade and special needs classrooms.