GreenYes Digest V98 #137

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GreenYes Digest Sun, 14 Jun 98 Volume 98 : Issue 137

Today's Topics:
candidate for best (worst) wasters competion for Resa et al (2 msgs)

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Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 08:34:38 -0400
From: "ken lowstetter eve martinez" <keneve@earthlink.net>
Subject: candidate for best (worst) wasters competion for Resa et al

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Dixie Paper products and one of the major aluminum manufacturers are =
running commercials on TV in the NY area and targetting daycare centers =
etc with materials that urge you to use paper plates and cups for every =
meal and broil and bake in foil in order to avoid doing dishes.
I will get more info on this.

Eve Martinez
keneve@earthlink.net

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Dixie Paper products and one of the = major=20 aluminum manufacturers are running commercials on TV in the NY area and=20 targetting daycare centers etc with materials that urge you to use paper = plates=20 and cups for every meal and broil and bake in foil in order to avoid = doing=20 dishes.
I will get more info on = this.
 
Eve Martinez
keneve@earthlink.net ------=_NextPart_000_0052_01BD96A6.1A5BC000-- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 20:07:44 -0400 (EDT) From: "Roger M. Guttentag" Subject: candidate for best (worst) wasters competion for Resa et al >Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 20:04:16 >To: "ken lowstetter eve martinez" >From: "Roger M. Guttentag" >Subject: Re: candidate for best (worst) wasters competion for Resa et al > >At 08:34 AM 6/13/98 -0400, you wrote: >>Dixie Paper products and one of the major aluminum manufacturers are running commercials on TV in the NY area and targetting daycare centers etc with materials that urge you to use paper plates and cups for every meal and broil and bake in foil in order to avoid doing dishes. >>I will get more info on this. >> >>Eve Martinez >>keneve@earthlink.net >=================================================================== >Dear GreenYesers: > >I can appreciate the concern expressed in the above message sent by Eve but we need to find out what is the sales argument that is being used to promote these disposable products to day care operations and then figure out how to counteract them appropriately and effectively. My own sensitivity to this issue is based on having my own daughter in day care and seeing the immense economic pressures that even very high quality day care operations are subject to. The daycare I use asks each parent to provide reusable drinking cups and food containers for their children's meals. Dirty food containers are returned to the parents at the end of the day for them to properly wash. However, the drinking cups are washed for reuse by center staff. This requires both conscientious, well-trained staff as well as sinks (and the space) where the washing can be performed. This translates into extra costs for both labor (you need to pay extra to get good staff and low turnover) and infrastructure. This, I believe, is one factor that contributes to making my daycare slightly more expensive than competing operations. Fortunately, where I live, there are enough households who appreciate this kind of daycare operation and are willing to pay for it. However, the daycare industry is notorious for serving a customer population that is extremely price sensitive. Even a slight increase by a few dollars a week of the day care tuition can cause significant customer defections. This is one of the core conundrums of day care - everyone wants quality care but very few are willing to pay for it. If Dixie's principal sales pitch is that disposable products will help day care operators keep their costs low without compromising health needs then either you need to show that these claims are false or figure out how to make reusability a superior low cost option. Otherwise companies like Dixie can claim that any criticism of their approach shows that you are against affordable day care which is a road you don't want to go down. > >Sincerely, > >Roger M. Guttentag > E-MAIL: rgutten@concentric.net TEL: 215-513-0452 FAX: 215-513-0453 Read "Recycling In Cyberspace" in Resource Recycling ------------------------------ End of GreenYes Digest V98 #137 ******************************