Going “green” with compostable products has been a goal for the UW’s Housing and Food Services (HFS) for two years now.

The compostable Coca-Cola soft drink ecotainer, unveiled in front of spectators in the Husky Den yesterday morning, is another part of the goal. It is being labeled the final piece in the HFS line of environmentally friendly utensils and food containers that have been widely publicized during the past year. A biodegradable lid is still being developed.

The new compostable cup, which is the first of its kind for dispensed drinks, was developed in partnership with the University of Washington, Coca-Cola, International Paper and Cedar Grove Composting as both a way to make HFS utensils entirely biodegradable and to meet a City of Seattle July 2010 deadline for all businesses to convert to recyclable or compostable utensils.

“The University of Washington, along with our partners, is very committed to trying to be exemplars in the way we run our university,” UW President Mark Emmert said at the unveiling. “I have no idea how many thousands of cups we consume, but it’s a lot. We have to therefore do everything we can to minimize the impact on this wonderful place that we all love.”

Mike Meyering, product manager for HFS, said they contacted Coca-Cola about a compostable cup in March 2007. It was first tested in UW eateries in November 2008 and will now be a permanent fixture in all HFS eateries that house a soft drink dispenser.

“When we started our composting program, we started replacing items out and we looked at the Coke cup,” Meyering said. “We knew this was going to be a contaminant, so we met with Coca-Cola and said basically, ‘Hey, this is the last big piece in the line, and can you help us out?’”

Andi Iwen, a sales associate with Coca-Cola, said the company began working with International Paper on the cup after getting the request from the UW.

“Obviously we live in an area where the environment is a high priority and we thought that this was something that would really have legs,” Iwen said.

At eight cents per cup, the new eco-friendly version is twice as costly as its ‘unfriendly’ counterpart, but this will not affect food or drink prices, Meyering said.

Chris Roeder, manager of marketing and product development at International Paper, which designed and created the cup with a corn-based polymer coating, commented on the cost benefits of the cup.

Roeder explained that it costs more to transport trash away than to compost, and that despite the higher cost of production, he believes consumers are still willing to pay.

Students Expressing Environmental Dedication (SEED), an organization that has lobbied for compostable utensils and containers in all HFS locations, was also at the unveiling.

Ashley Rumble, director of SEED, said that with the introduction of the ecotainer, the UW has made a big step forward in sustainability efforts.

“This is just another step to get compostable products in every place in the UW,” she said. “I think it’s great that the UW and HFS is actually working with these big corporations.”

Reach reporter Allen Wagner at news@dailyuw.com.