The EMU Food Service and University Housing have offered reusable mugs as an alternative to paper cups for nearly six months and the impact on waste reduction is clear
"We've purchased about 15 to 20 percent fewer paper cups of all kinds, compared to this point last year," said Dennis Carr, EMU Food Service director.
Carr said the reduction would be even greater, but EMU Catering has had an increase in events where paper cups are necessary.
In an effort to encourage the purchase and use of the mugs instead of paper cups, Carr has increased the refill discount for coffee, soft drinks, hot chocolate, lemonade and iced tea.
When a customer uses a plastic mug, the discount ranges from 10 to 25 cents, depending on the beverage.
"It gives people a little more loyalty," he said.  "It gives them an incentive to always stop here for their beverage."
So far, EMU Food Service has sold 5,500 of the 22 oz. Mugs and 1,200 of the 12 oz. Mugs.
Housing has virtually eliminated the need for paper cups in their dining facilities by purchasing a mug for each dorm resident.
"We're not using any cold paper cups," said Fred Babcock, Housing Food Service director.  Some hot drink cups are being used in Catering and the Bean facilities because of inconveniences caused by the remodeling of the Hamilton cafeteria.
Babcock said this reduction amounts to 6,000-7,000 cups each day.
The price of the mugs sold by the EMU increased from $1 to $2 fall term, an increase that was unavoidable, Carr said.
"Our original order came on a joint order with Housing," he said.  The total order of 7,500 significantly reduced the per unit price.
When the EMU had to make a second order on their own, the order size (4,300) did not qualify for bulk discounts.  In addition, transportation costs from the manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania increased $400 on the second order, in part because of escalating oil prices.
"We are making virtually nothing on the mugs," Carr said.
Transportation costs are now stabilizing and if the EMU makes another joint purchase with Housing next fall, mug prices will fall, he said.
Paper waste reduction from mug use and other recycling efforts has meant financial savings for the EMU and Housing.
"We paid for the mugs in about a month and a half," Babcock said, which means Housing is now saving the cost of daily paper cup use.
Housing is also saving money on napkin use, which has gone down at least 50 percent, or about a case each day, he said.
This reduction came from a campaign by Housing and the Survival Center to reduce paper use in the dining halls.

Carr said garbage removal costs for the EMU have dropped dramatically, in part because of ordinary paper waste reduction, and because of cardboard recycling by the Physical Plant.
Lewis Atkinson, a garbage truck operator for the University, said the reduction of paper waste, especially cardboard, has made it necessary for him to go to the dump only once a day, instead of the former two or three times.
Both Housing and the EMU have committed to other measures that are good for the environment, including tin, plastic and glass recycling; elimination of Styrofoam and polystyrene containers; and using local vendors whenever possible.

Gourmet Garbage
Plenty of food is wasted each year in the dining halls,
but taking only what you can eat would help cut the waste
By Mason West April 24, 2000 http://www.dailyemerald.com/

As Oliver Twist once said, "Food, glorious food." Indeed. People eating in the University dining halls each day are bombarded by copious amounts of food. There is so much to choose from that sometimes you just take one of everything. We've all heard of the "freshman 15." Yeah, that's not talking about how many hours of sleep you get during finals week. That number is actually a lot smaller.
Joking aside, the food that students take is often more than they can eat. And so we arrive at our quandary.
Food waste is a constant problem for the people in charge of the dining halls.
"We always need to have more food than we need," said Kari VanOrsdel, University Inn dining hall manager. "The last person in line deserves as much as the first."
But food that is prepared and not used by students can either be reused somehow by the University dining operations or donated to Food for Lane County.
Recycle the food? Ewwwwww. But don't worry about it. There are very strict guidelines regarding what food can be reused based on what it is and how long it has been sitting, etc.
But they can't do diddley about the food we take. Everything that we grab is either going in us or in the trash. In our defense, I must note that sometimes you see some item that you think is going to be really good, so you fill your plate with it. Then it turns out to taste worse than black licorice. I know that some people like black licorice, and I would like to take a quick moment to inform them that they are wrong.
An easy solution to this problem in the dining halls would be a more detailed list of ingredients of the food. This would let me avoid such mishaps as getting macaroni with onions in it. Onions! I admit that it went directly from my plate to the landfill.
So I'm just as guilty as anybody else, and I'm not preaching from on high. I am trying to change myself as much as I'm trying to change you. The only way that anything is going to change is if we collectively change our attitudes.
To monitor waste, Campus Recycling does a few "food waste audits" in the dining halls each year. These are days when it keeps track of all the food thrown away. In the last waste audit on Nov. 15, 1999, during lunch at Carson the average was about .3 pounds of food waste per person. Though that doesn't sound too bad, when you multiply that by the 858 people that ate there for that meal, you get a total of 259 pounds of food that was discarded.
Despite this waste, there is still hope.
"Things have gotten better over the year," VanOrsdel said. "I think people have bigger eyes than stomachs when they come in."
The other day, chicken tenders were served for dinner. While I was eating, I saw a gentlemen walk by with a plate that contained no less than 10 chicken tenders. Those tenders are mighty tasty -- and I didn't stick around to see if he ate them all -- but I bet a third of that went in the trash untouched.
I'm glad that VanOrsdel is optimistic, but if that's an improvement, we have a lot more improving to do. Though this is just one example, we students don't recognize how good we have it. All I ever hear about the dining halls is "the food's so gross," or, "hey, my hair's not that long!" Come on people! Appreciate what we have. Besides Izzy's, University dining halls are some of the few places where you can get all-you-can-eat.
One other possible solution is to eliminate the all-you-can-eat dining halls in favor of a pay-per-item style. While University Housing is not seriously considering this option, it would solve the problem. "I'd hate to get rid of the all-you-can-eat atmosphere," VanOrsdel said. Carson manager Cindy Lund said that most of the universities that have gone away from the all-you-can-eat style have returned to it.
The easiest solution to this whole problem is simple. Take a conservative amount of food your first time through, then do as my good friend Oliver does. Walk back through the line and say, "Please sir, might I have some more."
Mason West is a columnist for the Oregon Daily Emerald. His views do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. He can be reached via e-mail at mwest1@uoregon.edu

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