Conference 7.286::digital

    Please remember that DEC has hundreds of facilities and almost
    as many cafeterias. The cafeteria in NIO has only the plastic
    reusable trays. Some facilities have plastic and paper/cardboard.
    Beware of gross generalizations. Generally speaking a cafeteria
    is a local issue and things like this should be brought up with
    the local facilities people or the cafeteria committee (if one
    exists).
    
    			Alfred

  The MRO3 caf has both large reusable trays and small disposable ones. I
assume the reason for the choice is that some people want to buy more food
than will fit on a small tray, and don't want to take the time to make mul-
tiple trips thru the line. Because less than half the customers use the large
trays, the 'dish' washing task is manageable.
  Styrofoam (TM) plates, cups, etc. pose two environmental problems: some manu-
facturers use chlorofluorocarbons in the process (which threaten the ozone
layer) and the waste generates toxic fumes if incinerated and is non-bio-de-
gradable if disposed of in a landfill. Elimininating the CFC's in the process
is simple but the disposal problem isn't. There are no cost effective alter-
natives to plastics in cafeterias; I would rather use 'real' utensils and
dishes but the dishwashing would require a lot of costly labor, and use more
water and electricity as well. 

    I thought the reason for the disposable trays was for people who
    wanted to take the food back to their offices to eat.
    
    jack

    Re: .0
    
    They did exactly that in Berzerkly Ca...now,nobody can use those
    foam type containers...really hurts the fast-food joints,like
    McDonalds,who have to find other containers to put Big Macs in.
    Ah...those guys are always on the leading edge...just last month,they
    had a proposal before the city council to adopt a Palestinian refugee
    camp as their sister city.

.0>    is not re-usable.  Since foam is not biodegradable, I think we should
.0>    buy more re-usable plastic trays and get rid of the foam type

    In the early days of MRO3 the plastic trays wound up as trays under
    plants in offices. How do you recycle a tray that is under someones
    plant?

Not having the "benefit" of a DEC cafeteria, I can't comment on them 
directly, but in most of our customers cafeterias, both type of trays
do exist, and for the reason mentioned earlier...take out!  

I hadn't thought about the idea of cardboard instead of foam... probably
more expensive, but at least it can be recycled.  

If your local Cafe is using foam, you may want to suggest the cardboard.

My $.02

    
    Here in NI0 styrofoam trays or cups are outlawed, the reason being
    due to Electro Static Discharge (ESD). Even the trash cans are lined
    with ESD trash bags. What a waste!! I can buy about 200 regular
    trash bags for less than what one of those special ESD trash bags
    cost.
    
    verne

       For all their ESD concerns here they continue to store sensitive
    modules in cardboard boxes. Clearly against ESD policy.
                                                   Denny

>    What a waste!! I can buy about 200 regular
>    trash bags for less than what one of those special ESD trash bags
>    cost.

    And you can use that savings to replace how many of the 8800s that
    might otherwise be rendered useless after being zapped??? We've
    got ESD shoes or heel straps, and those blue shirts, and bans on
    Styrofoam for good reasons. ESD causes all kinds of hard and (worse
    still) intermittent problems in todays systems. The way CPUs and
    boards and chips and what not are spread around NIO it's a good
    thing we are careful about ESD. In the long run we're saving a
    fortune!
    
    			Alfred

    Styrofoam ?  Perhaps the larger question is what happens to the
    ozone layer, since the process of making styrofoam involves gases
    that catalytically destroy ozone (the ozone breaks down, but the
    catalytic compounds remain).
    
    Digital, or rather its food-service vendors, can take a small step
    towards preserving the planet's environment by replacing styrofoam.
    I prefer hard plastic trays, china, and silverware, if for no other
    reason than that I can carry my food to my seat without fear of
    the tray warping or snapping in half.

    I have to agree with those people who say that static is bad for
    our newer computers,so,I agree with that ban on styrofoam...but,ESD
    trash bags? come on...

    Styrofoam is a brand name used in insulation products.  I don't
    believe that the maker of Syrofoam does anything to product food
    containers.
    
    I believe that foam coffee cups are not at issue.
    

>    I believe that foam coffee cups are not at issue.
    
    Sure they are. They've been banned at this facility. (NIO)
    
    			Alfred

    The supplier of ZKO's foamware (is that a word?) has written a letter,
    posted at all cafeteria cash registers, that no CFCs are used in
    producing the foam they supply.  (Of course, there's still the solid
    waste issue.  As Pogo said 18 years ago, "We have met the enemy
    and he is us.")

Ditto of .14

A letter written to National Public Radio regarding a report they did on
styrofoam by an engineer at a 'foam cup' plant indicated that CFC's are only
used to make a certain kind of super-smooth surfaceed styro cup. The letter
(read on the air) said that if the cup has a seam along the side it is one
that is made via the process that uses CFC's.

{pardon the rathole, please}

Lee

        A recent Technology Program on TV here in OZ, talked of a non
        CFC, degradable foam, that decomposes after a chemically defined
        time.
        
        q

    Just a suggestion for those of us who are concerned about the stryofoam
    waste problem.  Bring your own tray, or don't use one at all.  Many
    of the people in this facility have their own coffee mugs--couldn't
    we have our own trays too?  I don't advocate this for plates because
    washing the plates in the bathroom sinks probably would clog up
    the drains.  Silverware can be brought from home too.