Styrofoam or Paper on a Budget?

Question

I work for a large hospital that is currently using Styrofoam cups and hinged clamshell to go containers. We do not currently recycle but I am trying to change my managers’ mind about it. As any manager in business he is concerned with the cost. Recycled paper or recycling the Styrofoam?

Please help!!! I feel like every year we are creating a large landfill with our chopped up Styrofoam. Can I make my manager happy, be frugal, and still be green?

Answer 1

have u ever looked into the possibility of reusable cups over the other two?  whether it be ceramic, glass, stainless steel, or whatever you guys can use the cups and sanitarily clean it thus creating minimal to no waste and possibly saving you guys money from not having to repeatedly buy more disposable cups for use AND there wont be any need for a recycling bin afterall.

Answer 2

It may be difficult to recycle the paper cups even...they are probably lined with a waxy/plastic layer which make it difficult to recycle.

Start encouraging your co-workers to bring their own mug. Lobby to have the cafeteria give a discount to those who do. Do they sell pop in cans? Perhaps ask your manager to put out recycle bins for cans. You can even get some money back for those. Start with that then move on to plastic, glass, paper...

Keep it up...you're doing a good thing!

Answer 3

Obviously paper would be more friendly.  But getting places like this to recycle is hard.  I would start with a more reasonable place.  Like cardboard, all of the shipments they get in come in cardboard boxes.  They have companies that supply the trash bins for cardboard and get it for free.  Therefor cutting down on your trash (saving them money) and helps out.  Once you get started that way you can have trash recepticles for aluminum cans and plasic bottles in lobby and cafeteria.  There are recycling companies that will pick up your waste if you have it separated.  Selling in paper would be the best solution, styrofoam is just hard to get a big place started.  Then if you can nag him enough to get just paper cups and receptacles they maybe, could go in your cardboard bin.

Answer 4

Many recycling companies will not take styrofoam, even though it is possible to reuse it.

I would go with the recycled paper, if possible.  Even though many paper food/drink containers have a waterproof coating that makes them undesirable to many paper recyclers, the paper is still biodegradable and is a good alternative to styrofoam.