Going Green

Regency Coffee & Vending is committed to becoming an environmentally-friendly business.  We are in the process of supplying Green products.  We currently are stocking environmentally-friendly biodegradable paper products available to be used as an alternative to harsh plastic products should you, our customer, desire them to protect the environment.  This includes paper plates, cups, bags, coffee ground pods, just to name a few.

This page has some information about our Green planet, as it is related to the coffee and vending business.  There are many available links on the internet about environmentally friendly products.  Since this is an ever changing subject, should you desire to peruse this subject, please search " Going Green" and read the articles that come up.

Fair Trade Certified -- as defined by National Geographic.

The "Fair Trade Certified" label is a third-party certification administered in the U.S. by TransFair USA, a member of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO), and it means that coffee beans were purchased directly from growers or their cooperatives at a price higher than the commodity market rate.  Both growers (including producer groups and cooperatives) and importers can be certified, and certification ensures that the price paid per pound of beans never falls below $0.10 more than the current market price.  Currently, Fair Trade-certified growers are paid the FLO-established price of at least $1.21 per pound, $1.51 if it's certified organic (more than double the market rate).  Certification also imposes some environmental-protection standards on growers, including a ban on the most hazardous pesticides such as DDT, methyl parathion and lindane (For more on these pesticides, see "The Backstory"), and the use of integrated pest management techniques, such as growing coffee under shade canopies.  Fair Trade-certified importers must also provide pre-financing credits to growers when needed to help them comply with certification requirements.  The higher wages allow farmers to invest in health care, education, community development and environmental stewardship. -- National Geographic.

What To Look For in Plastics

Plastic is the most widely used material in the United States, and it crops up in everything from toys to clothes to food containers.  But not all plastics are created equal, particularly in regards to food storage: Some plastics can transmit chemicals into your food, while others are perfectly safe.  Before you know which type of plastic container to buy the next time you hit the store, you first need to know how to tell them apart.  Plastics are typically classified by a number from #1 to #7, each number representing a different type of resin.  That number is usually imprinted on the bottom of your container; flip it upside down, and you'll see a recycling triangle with the number in the middle. Here's a quick breakdown of plastic resin types:

• #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) --  Product examples: Disposable soft drink and water bottles, cough-syrup bottles
• #2 high density polyethylene (HDPE) --  Product examples: Milk jugs, toys, liquid detergent bottles, shampoo bottles
• #3 polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC) --  Product examples: Meat wrap, cooking oil bottles, plumbing pipes
• #4 low density polyethylene (LDPE) --  Product examples: Cling wrap, grocery bags, sandwich bags
• #5 polypropylene (PP) --  Product examples: Syrup bottles, yogurt cups/tubs, diapers
• #6 polystyrene (PS) --  Product examples: Disposable coffee cups, clam-shell take-out containers
• #7 other (misc.; usually polycarbonate, or PC, but also polylactide, or PLA, plastics made from renewable resources) --  Product examples: Baby bottles, some reusable water bottles, stain-resistant food-storage containers, medical storage containers

Safer Plastics:

• #2HDPE, #4LDPE and #5PP --  These three types of plastic are the healthiest. They transmit no known chemicals into your food and they're generally recyclable; #2 is very commonly accepted by municipal recycling programs, but you may have a more difficult time finding someone to recycle your #4 and #5 containers.
• #1 PET --  #1 bottles and containers are fine for single use and are widely accepted by municipal recyclers.  You won't find many reusable containers made from #1, but they do exist.  It's also best to avoid reusing #1 plastic bottles; water and soda bottles in particular are hard to clean, and because plastic is porous, these bottles absorb flavors and bacteria that you can't get rid of.
• PLA --  PLA (polylactide) plastics are made from renewable resources such as corn, potatoes and sugar cane and anything else with a high starch content.  The starch is converted into polylactide acid (PLA).  Although you can't recycle these plant-based plastics, you can compost them in a municipal composter or in your backyard compost heap.  Most decompose in about twelve days unlike conventional plastic, which can take up to 100 years.

Plastics to Avoid:

• #3 PVC --  #3 polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is often used frequently in cling wraps for meat. However, PVC contains softeners called phthalates that interfere with hormonal development, and its manufacture and incineration release dioxin, a potent carcinogen and hormone disruptor. Vinyl chloride, the primary building block of PVC, is a known human carcinogen that also poses a threat to workers during manufacture.
• #6 PS Extruded polystyrene --  (#6 PS; commonly known as Styrofoam) is used in take-out containers and cups, and non-extruded PS is used in clear disposable takeout containers, disposable plastic cutlery and cups. Both forms of PS can leach styrene into food; styrene is considered a possible human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It may also disrupt hormones or affect reproduction.
• #7 PC --  #7 Polycarbonate (PC) is found in baby bottles, 5-gallon water bottles, water-cooler bottles and the epoxy linings of tin food cans. PC is composed of a hormone-disrupting chemical called bisphenol A, which has been linked to a wide variety of problems such as cancer and obesity.