Stanford Health Care is teaming up with Dispatch Goods. The 500 Pasteur Cafeteria will offer reusable food containers at the Made to Order salad station. Food Services is at the helm of this pilot program, and Dispatch Goods will be supplying and collecting the sleek, eco-friendly containers.
100% of every container you return gets processed for reuse up to 100 times, compared with one use for each disposable food container.
Reusable serviceware uses one-fifth of the water and emits one-third of the greenhouse gases that compostable or single-use containers require.
Instructions
Keep the reusable containers in service by returning them to their designated collection bins.
Step 1
Empty and wipe residual food with a napkin, and place the napkin and food scraps in a compost bin.
Step 2
Place the food container and lid in the designated Dispatch Goods collection bin.
Collection Bin Locations
Drop off your empty reusable food containers to any of the following bins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Washing and reusing a plastic container is more environmentally-friendly than compostable or other single-use options. In comparison:
- It takes five times more water to make a plant-fiber compostable container than to wash a reusable container.
- Reusing a container emits one-third of the greenhouse gases that making a new, single-use container does.
- Biodegradable plastic liners and lids can be difficult to compost. Reusables are the best and most sustainable solution.
With the reusable plastic containers, Dispatch Goods work with manufacturers to recycle 100% of each container at the end of its usable life.
If you’ve taken the container home, please return it next time you’re at the hospital. Find the closest collection bin location on the Stanford Health Care Palo Alto Campus.
Rinsing the containers before you return them is helpful but not mandatory. Simply empty your leftovers into the compost bin, wipe the container with a napkin, and return it to the collection bin.
Dispatch Goods adhere to the California Department of Health’s Retail Food Code (CalCode) guidelines. Dispatch Goods also take additional steps to ensure our containers are as clean as possible.
Industrial-grade dishwashers doubly sanitize the containers with high pressure and high heat while saving electricity and water in the process. The containers air-dry before being placed in transport bins that remain sealed until they reach the service locations.