Dining Goes Green with White Napkin Ban

Duke Dining is proving that fruits and vegetables aren’t the only green part of what they do.

Last month, administrators announced that Duke Dining would ban the use of bleached napkins, requiring all Duke Dining locations to use unbleached napkins made from 100 percent recycled materials. The move, part of a larger sustainability strategy by Duke Dining, comes on the heels of a ban on Styrofoam in February 2014.

The change in napkins will have no impact on customers in dining locations, noted Robert Coffey, director of Duke Dining. The only difference will be the color, changing from white to brown.

“Duke Dining is constantly striving to enhance its sustainable practices and be a national leader for sustainable initiatives,” Coffey said. “It was a natural move to ban bleached napkins from all Duke Dining locations to help save our natural resources and protect our environment.”

Purchasing unbleached napkins is the latest of many sustainable actions taken by Duke Dining, which includes initiatives focused on food donations, reusable mug and containers, recycling programs to include waste oil and special events to promote locally-grown products. Duke Dining has also been composting food for about 11 years.

“Everyday operations at Duke impact the environment and human health in many ways,” said Casey Roe, outreach coordinator for Sustainable Duke. “Duke Dining is taking an important step to support recycling and reduce chemical use by requiring eateries to purchase unbleached, recycled-content napkins.”

For more information about “green” dining initiatives, visit the Duke Dining website.