Hospitality Services offers incentives to encourage students, faculty and staff to use reusable dishes
BY RACHELLE COOPER
Sheila Attwell, marketing manager for Hospitality Services, is looking forward to the day when everyone waiting to buy coffee from one of the University's food vendors is holding a reusable mug.
Hospitality Services eliminated all Styrofoam cups and containers on campus in fall 2004 and has created incentives to encourage students, faculty and staff to use reusable mugs and to reduce waste even more, Attwell says.
One major incentive is the reduced cost of hot and cold beverages for those who bring their own reusable mug or drinking bottle. With any size of mug or bottle, you pay only the small-beverage price for coffee, tea, hot chocolate and draft cold drinks.
“And it doesn't have to be a U of G mug,” says Attwell. “Bring in your favourite mug from home and you'll save money on your coffee.”
Despite this incentive, many members of the University community continue to use paper cups, she says. In addition, since Hospitality Services made the switch from Styrofoam to paper, some people have been creating more waste by taking two cups instead of one.
“We're encouraging them to instead use a coffee sleeve, but the best alternative is to bring your own mug,” says Attwell.
To further reward U of G members for using reusable dishes, Hospitality Services developed the “Enviro Card Program” for the University Centre and the LA Pit.
“When you use your own dishes for a purchased main entree, you can choose between a stamp on your Enviro Card — a total of 10 stamps gets you a free meal — or a 25-cent discount on your meal,” says Attwell.
Hospitality Services also sells dishware at base cost and provides wash stations and dish soap for people to use, she adds.
In addition to using biodegradable paper products instead of Styrofoam, Hospitality Services has introduced cups that look and feel like plastic but are actually made from corn and are biodegradable.
Local Ontario products are purchased whenever possible to help support local businesses, says Attwell.
“We also display baked goods like muffins and cookies in baskets and bins rather than individually wrapping them, to reduce excess packaging.”
For more information on Hospitality Services' sustainability initiatives, visit www.hospitality.uoguelph.ca.
