House Republicans Ungreen Cafeteria by Bringing Back Styrofoam Cups

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Friday, March 04, 2011

House Republicans Ungreen Cafeteria by Bringing Back Styrofoam Cups

Styrofoam cups at Congressional cafeteria (photo: Treehugger.com)

Claiming the program was too expensive to continue, House Republicans have eliminated former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “Green the Capitol” initiative, which involved using only biodegradable cups and dishware in congressional cafeterias.

As a result, an old enemy of environmentalists—Styrofoam cups—has made a comeback on Capitol Hill.

Representative Dan Lungren (R-California), chairman of the House Committee on Administration, said the eco-friendly program was costing the House nearly half a million dollars a year, which was too much to spend when reducing the deficit is so important.

In addition to requiring only biodegradable utensils, plates and trays—which staffers complained were prone to breaking, Pelosi had climate-friendly vending machines and compact fluorescent light bulbs installed throughout the Capitol. The Democrats claim the effort reduced energy consumption by 23% and water consumption by 32%.

The winner of the GOP’s decision to return to Styrofoam is WinCup, a supplier owned by former Koch Industries executive George Wurtz. Koch Industries is owned by the Koch Brothers, two of the Republican Party’s most important donors.

Styrofoam Makes a Comeback in House Cafeterias (by Laura Klairmont, CNN)

Former Koch Exec Supplying House's New Styrofoam Cups (by Elise Foley, Huffington Post)

Inside the New GOP-Run, Styrofoam-Filled Congressional Cafeteria (Photos) (by Brian Merchant, Tree Hugger)

Comments

A Conservative Teacher 13 years ago

Mr. Wurtz served as Executive Vice President of Georgia-Pacific for four years, which ended in December 2005 or January 2006. Koch Industries acquired Georgia-Pacific on December 23, 2005. It is clear that Koch's acquisition of Georgia-Pacific caused George Wurtz to leave that company. So your story is that someone who worked for the Koch's for a month or two and then left because of them and got a job working for another company which several years later was hired by a non-partisan group demonstrates that private individuals donating to causes they believe in is corrupt and evil? Just making sure I have your deluded story correct.

dagwud 13 years ago

Oh, for Pete's sake. The GOP members of congress made the decision to go back to styrofoam. But the decision as to the supplier was made by the company who manages the cafeteria. Unless one can show that the GOP influenced Restaurant Associates' decision and that said influence was, itself, influenced by the Koch brothers or their donations, then the inclusion of Mr. Wurtz's past association is a non sequitur serving only to show the political bias of the author.

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House Republicans Ungreen Cafeteria by Bringing Back Styrofoam Cups

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