Dunkin Donuts & styrofoam cups

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Permalink Reply by Judith Newton on March 17, 2008 at 6:33pm

First off, Marsha, I hear you! It can be very frustrating to be continually faced with this kind of damaging behavior that is par for the course.

Maybe you could pitch something to Dunkin' Donuts as a more positive change. I mean, perhaps suggest that they jack up the price for coffee in disposable cups and give deep discounts to those who bring their own. Give them a rationale that speaks to their objectives. Have you tried to gather other locals to your cause? Strength in numbers, and all that. Make it a personal campaign, perhaps.

Perhaps you could join with a local chapter of the Sierra Club or other such organization and lend your voice to campaigns to clean up our collective act.

Really, I don't know what your path is -- do what you conscience tells you. Keep speaking up and speaking out. Be powerful -- and compassionate. The strongest and most easily heard message delivers a clear truth while not making people wrong. Be sure to separate an explanation of wrong behavior from making someone personally wrong. And give a positive vision for change. Just my $.02.

Best wishes,
Judith

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Permalink Reply by Sas on April 25, 2008 at 4:54am

Marsha: Last night I made up 300 copies of the devastating effects of Styrene (Dunkin Donuts cups) and am on my way to distribute them to frequenters of Dunkin Donuts in my area. It won't be long before they discontinue the use of styrene containers in this area of Connecticut. If you would like a copy of the flyer please contact me and I will send it.

SAS

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Permalink Reply by Marsha Booth on April 26, 2008 at 5:14am

Hi SAS,
Yes I would love a copy of the flyer. Great to hear you are doing this.
How do I give you my email address so it won't be put on this blog page?

Thanks so much

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Permalink Reply by Sas on April 26, 2008 at 1:21pm

STYRENE MIGRATION FROM FOAM CUPS AND CONTAINERS
The migration of styrene from a polystyrene cup into the beverage it contains has been observed to be as high as 0.025% for a single use. That may seem like a rather low number, until you work it this way: If you drink beverages from polystyrene cups four times a day for three years, you may have consumed about one foam cup's worth of styrene along with your beverages. Mmm.... chem-i-callyyyy...
Styrene migration has been shown to be partially dependent on the fat content of the food in the polystyrene cups/containers—the higher the fat content, the higher the migration into the food. Entrees, soups, or beverages that are higher in fat (like a bowl of three-cheese chili or tall cupful of Triple-Cream Frappa-Mocha Java Delight) will suck more of the styrene out of the polystyrene container than, say, water. Some compounds found in beverages, like alcohol or the acids in "tea with lemon," may also raise the styrene migration rate.
When it comes to more solid food, the meat or cheese you buy from the market on a clear-plastic-wrapped polystyrene tray may be picking up styrene from the foam container. Styrene also appears to migrate more quickly when foods or drinks are hot.
HEALTH EFFECTS OF STYRENE
Studies suggest that styrene mimics estrogen in the body and can therefore disrupt normal hormone functions, possibly contributing to thyroid problems, menstrual irregularities, and other hormone-related problems, as well as breast cancer and prostate cancer. The estrogenicity of styrene is thought to be comparable to that of Bisphenol A, another potent estrogen mimic from the world of plastics.
Long-term exposure to small quantities of styrene is also suspected of causing:
• low platelet counts or hemoglobin values;
• chromosomal and lymphatic abnormalities;
• neurotoxic effects due to accumulation of styrene in the tissues of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, resulting in fatigue, nervousness, difficulty sleeping, and other acute or chronic health problems associated with the nervous system.
My email address: nyukgrad@yahoo.com let me know if it went through.
I also sent a copy to all the head honchos at Dunkin Brands corporate office

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Permalink Reply by teogr on April 28, 2008 at 11:12am

Hi SAS,

Thanks for the work. If you have a PDF of this flyer (the text of which is copied above), you may want to upload it here so that others can download it and more easily distribute the actual piece. Just a thought.

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Permalink Reply by Marsha Booth on April 28, 2008 at 12:47pm

Hi SAS,
I brought this to a few Dunkin Donuts Managers in my area. They agreed with it and said they would buy paper if they could but only have the styrene available to them. Hmmmm a few months ago the management at Dunkin Donuts emailed me and said that franchise owners can buy whatever cups they want? sounds fishy to me.

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Permalink Reply by jcm on June 9, 2008 at 1:15am

This is an issue that's bothered me for a long time. It's the main reason I don't drink Dunkin' Donuts coffee very often, though you can ask them to give you the coffee in one of the late cups. I just discovered this post as I was creating a facebook group advocating for change (not that these things achieve much, but maybe if a very large number of people join then it'll help show that people really do care about environmental issues like this in the US):

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17088923715

Jon.

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Permalink Reply by Angela on September 5, 2008 at 11:22am

Bravo! I too am disgusted that they use styrofoam cups! And dare to brag in their commercials about selling billions of cups of coffee a year... IN STYROFOAM CUPS!!! I have written to the company and have encouraged others to do the same. I plan to print several copies of that flyer and pass it around to educate others. Thanks for posting it!

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