In an effort to eliminate waste, Gator Dining locations on campus will no longer be using foam products.
Foam food packaging products, which include cups and to-go containers, have been replaced with paper-based products that are compostable or recyclable, Dana Falstad, sustainability manager for Gator Dining Services, wrote in an email.
"By eliminating the number of foam containers on campus, we are helping to promote sustainability and working together to help our environment," she said.
Falstad declined to disclose the cost of removing foam products from campus.
With more than 40 dining locations at the university no longer using foam, 24,000 pounds of foam products will be saved, according to a Monday Gator Dining news release.
Falstad said UF used about 1.2 million pieces of foam products in 2010, and these products don't break down in landfills and can hurt the environment.
"We are helping to support UF's goal of being zero waste by 2015," she said.
Accounting junior Jason Beck, 20, said he eats on campus two times a day. Usually eating at Panda Express or Burger King, Beck said he noticed both companies using plastic and paper cups.
Beck said he still sees students using disposable containers at the residential dining halls.
"It does seem a little more convenient for the average student to use their container and throw it away right after they use it," he said.
Nursing sophomore Lila Dillon, 20, said she hasn't noticed anything different about the cups or containers used around campus but said removing foam products shows that UF is becoming more green.
"Why would you choose to use Styrofoam when you can use something else that will work just as well?" Dillon said.
