It’s Time to Look at Eco-Friendly Breakroom Supplies Again

Every industry takes time to reach a point of maturity. This was true when styrofoam was introduced as a material for disposable coffee cups, plates, etc. It was also true when environmentally conscious manufacturers started looking for materials to replace styrofoam. Years later, it is now time to look at eco-friendly breakroom supplies again. The industry has reached maturity.

Styrofoam had long been the material of choice for disposable coffee cups because of its insulating properties. Subsequently, paper cups have become more popular. That said, new eco-friendly coffee cups lined with PLA material offer the same insulating power but in a cup that is biodegradable and very much eco-friendly.

On the other hand is styrofoam’s eco-unfriendliness. Styrofoam is a petroleum-based product that takes hundreds of years to biodegrade in a landfill. Depending on the composition of a particular foam product, it may never completely biodegrade while buried underground and without exposure to light, water, and air.

The PLA Revolution

PLA (polylactic acid) is a bioplastic material derived from renewable sources like sugarcane, corn starch, and cassava. It is rigid enough to support everything from coffee cups to water bottles to medical devices, yet still biodegradable and compostable. In terms of worldwide consumption of bioplastics, PLA is among the leaders. It is used around the world to replace less environmentally friendly plastics.

The use of PLA material in breakroom supplies is truly putting the friendliness back into eco-friendly coffee cups, bowls, plates, and flatware. It is helping to make the breakroom more environmentally friendly by replacing non-biodegradable plastics and foams with a material that can either be composted or sent to the landfill with confidence that it will biodegrade.

Eco-Friendly Pricing

We are happy to say that price is becoming less of an issue for eco-friendly breakroom supplies. Costs have come down enough over the last 12 months to make eco-friendly products very competitive. For example, you can purchase high quality eco-friendly coffee cups from Galaxie Coffee for between $.07 and $.10 per cup, depending on size. That’s about $.01 more per cup when compared with paper cup pricing. Only recently, this difference was more than $.05!

Prices on our other eco-friendly products are equally competitive. From bowls and plates to forks, knives, and spoons, price should no longer be a prohibitive factor in going eco-friendly.

Galaxie Coffee wants to encourage our customers to start thinking eco-friendly for their breakroom supplies. Going eco-friendly is good for the environment because it means fewer non-biodegradable plastics and foams end up in our landfills. It means less energy being used to produce non-eco-friendly materials as well.

If you are not yet a Galaxie Coffee customer, we would like the opportunity to change that. We are one of the leading coffee service providers in the greater New York area. We can supply your office, warehouse, store, or industrial facility with the finest hot and cold beverages and breakroom supplies. Our inventory of coffee and water equipment includes all the latest technologies to ensure every breakroom experience is a positive one.