Busch theme parks go greener with biodegradable food containers

[GAcoaster]

From the Orlando Sentinel:

 

Busch theme parks go greener with biodegradable food containers, other conservation ideas

Busch theme parks' biodegradable, organic dishes are just the beginning of its goals

Scott Powers

Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer

April 21, 2008

 

Dishes to ashes, cups to dust.

 

SeaWorld Orlando and other Busch Entertainment Corp. parks are converting their food-service containers and tableware supplies to versions made from materials that are both farm-raised organic — such as corn and bamboo — and biodegradable. That means everything from spoons to pizza boxes will come from the soil and quickly return to it after they have been used.

 

Virginia Busch, who leads the Busch Entertainment Corp. and Busch family conservation efforts, insists the change is largely a reflection of the company's long-standing commitment to conservation causes, which she says goes back several generations. But the great-great-granddaughter of the founder of Busch Entertainment's corporate parent, Anheuser-Busch Cos., acknowledges that these days there is a big marketing edge for the company that can establish itself as the greenest theme-park company in town.

 

SeaWorld, Discovery Cove and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay are at the forefront of Busch Entertainment's program, having experimented for much of the past year with biodegradable food wares in their employee-lounge cafeterias. The new SeaWorld water park, Aquatica, joined the experiment when it opened last month — then quietly began using some of the items in one of its public restaurants, Mango Market. The items are also being introduced to the public in Busch Gardens' new Jungala restaurants.

 

Busch Entertainment has set a goal of eliminating polystyrene foam and petrochemical-based plastic tableware from 21 employee lounges and public restaurants throughout the 10-park chain by the end of this year, including seven eateries in SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica and Discovery Cove. During a second phase, the corporation intends to eliminate those materials from all of its theme-park restaurants and lounges nationwide, replacing them with items made from sustainable and biodegradable materials. There's no set deadline for the full conversion, but some company officials hope they can finish by the end of 2009.

 

Busch is replacing the petrochemical-based plastics with food boxes, bowls, plates and cups made of bamboo or sugar-cane fiber, cutlery made from vegetable-based starches, clear cups and salad and sandwich boxes made from corn-derived resins, and other items.

 

Company officials said the items are designed to quickly decompose in typical landfills — in a matter of months, rather than in the hundreds of years that petrochemical-based plastics can last.

 

After Mango Market in Orlando and Jungala in Tampa, the next Busch restaurants to get the biodegradable packaging, dishes, cups and cutlery will be SeaWorld's Mama's Kitchen and Hospitality Deli.

 

Other theme-park companies are also pursuing environmentally friendly programs, seeking to "go green." Like Busch Entertainment, Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando have created departments to develop ways of supporting conservation, reducing energy use, switching to bio-fuels and nontoxic cleaning supplies wherever possible, and increasing efforts to recycle. Earlier this year, Disney World introduced biodegradable straws.

 

Busch officials say they want to be even greener.

 

More conservation ahead

"Going green for us is not just the last couple of years," said Virginia Busch, president of the SeaWorld-Busch Gardens Conservation Fund and director of Busch Entertainment's zoological conservation.

 

In addition to switching to biodegradable food wares, she said, Busch Entertainment is also arranging to purchase all seafood served in the park, or fed to the animals, from fisheries certified by either the Marine Stewardship Council or the Aquaculture Certification Council — two international, nonprofit organizations that promote sustainable, environmentally responsible commercial fishing, fish farms and processing plants. By the end of this year, 100percent of the fresh and frozen fish and shrimp purchased for Busch Entertainment parks will be certified.

 

SeaWorld Orlando alone went through 38,000 pounds of shrimp and 30,000 pounds of salmon last year. Companywide, Busch Entertainment bought 100,000 pounds of shrimp and 120,000 pounds of salmon.

 

"We're trying to be more conscientious about the products we choose, not only those we offer our guests, but what we offer our animals," said Busch, who has been involved in both the initiatives.

 

The costs are higher for organic, biodegradable food wares, but SeaWorld spokeswoman Becca Bides said the company is committed to not passing those extra costs along as higher menu prices. Busch is absorbing the costs in part as an educational expense, which could then pay dividends by fostering market growth for the biodegradable products.

 

At Mango Market, there are no public indications yet that much of the packaging is biodegradable. But signs will be posted. Judy Jenkins, SeaWorld's director of education, said the company is convinced the message is as important as any actual environmental benefits. Busch parks can demonstrate, potentially to millions of consumers annually, the viability of organic, biodegradable alternatives for plastic cutlery, cups, plates and other items. That could be a selling point not just for Busch's parks, but for its suppliers, who are eager for the market to grow.

 

'The power of message'

"It's great that we're doing it, but the power of message, the impossibly intangible impact of that down the road, it's not measurable, but it's huge," Jenkins said.

 

Ina Muencheberg, corporate director of culinary operations supply management for Busch Entertainment, spent a year researching materials and suppliers. Finding biodegradable food boxes and serving plates and bowls that are the right sizes and shapes for SeaWorld's menu items hasn't been easy. In some cases, Busch has gotten suppliers to adapt, and in some Busch has adapted its menu to available containers.

 

Available colors vary, based on the source materials, so many plates and bowls don't match — but that's OK, Muencheberg said.

 

"It's an evolving, new industry, and it has to adapt to supply and demand, just like everything else," she said.

 

Muencheberg would not identify the vendors she is working with, saying that contract negotiations are ongoing.

 

Busch's demand for goods is large enough to help spark the development of certain supplies, she said. In the seven local SeaWorld employee lounges and public restaurants included in the initiative's first phase, 3.9 million pieces of disposable plastic cutlery, cups and plates were used and tossed last year. Companywide, in all the Busch Entertainment restaurants in the first phase, 12.5 million pieces of plastic were used and tossed.

 

Not only must vendors be able to meet that kind of volume, they must also be ready to adjust production lead times to match the sometimes severe peaks and valleys of tourist season. Busch wants to have multiple vendors for key products, to make sure there are no disruptions in supply.

 

SeaWorld's experiments are ongoing, too, run out of the employee lounges. All the items are showing up there, but not all are making it into the parks. For example, some of the corn-based cups that Busch tried didn't hold up well in warmer temperatures — they started to melt. That could be a problem for people wandering an Orlando theme park in August.

 

A few of the early spoons and forks were either too flexible or too brittle. But contrary to some employees' fears, none of them melted in anyone's mouth, said Catherine Valeriano, vice president of culinary operations for SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove.

 

Some employees also wondered if they could eat the cutlery, she said. The answer is no.

 

"Everyone wants to know when we will make decisions. They're very excited. I think we've gotten more people actually coming into the lounges, just to see them. We wanted to get the team members involved so that they have ownership and they are part of the decision process, and they really have been."

[JetsDevs4Lyf]

I really like stories like this and it is nice to see such large companies taking some time out to try and take on something like this because it has to be a rather large hit to their pocket and not an easy transition to go 100%