Dispatch Goods
UCSF Nutrition and Food Services and UCSF Sustainability are teaming up
with Dispatch Goods to supply and collect sleek, eco-friendly reusable
containers that will be offered in the Moffitt Café at Parnassus Heights. If you
are dining in the building, you can request your food be plated on one of
Dispatch Goods chili red reusable containers at participating stations.
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.
Dining in the Building? Choose our reusable goods and reusable utensils. Please return to the tray sorting area in the
café. If you are eating on floors 6-15 of UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus Heights, place your reusables in the soiled patient tray cart.
FAQs
Why are we using plastic?
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 works with manufacturers to recycle 100% of each container at the end of its usable life.
How do I return the container after taking it home?
If you’ve taken the container home, please return it next time you’re at the hospital.
Do I need to wash the containers before returning them?
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.
What is the sanitization process for the containers to be reused?
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.