CJKatl

I'm at the Birmingham Marriott right now, which is a pretty well run property, but just went to get a cup of coffee in the CL lounge and was surprised to find the only option was styrofoam cups. Given the suspected health concerns and the fact styrofoam isn't biodegradable, this surprised me. When I asked the snippy, rude CL attendant for a regular coffee cup, she laughed and said, "We don't offer that up here."

Has anyone else ever experienced this? I cannot recall an CL without ceramic mugs, nor any that don't use the better-for-the-environment and safer biodegradable paper cups.

Update: Apparently the CL attendant didn't want to be bothered with taking care of the mugs, and took it upon herself to adopt this rule. The GM brought mugs up there himself.

LadyPhoenix

I would hope this was an isolated event and just a "rogue" CL attendant.

CJKatl

It's a trite thing to complain about, but it's been a rough couple days. I drove my own car here and got a "flat" when I was almost here. (Run flat tires means it's not actually flat. There were several others who hit the same pothole and were similarly impacted.) I intended to do work in the room, but my Blue Snowball Microphone fried when I plugged it in. And I don't have a car to get a new one, as my car is at the tire shop waiting for the unusual tire to be delivered. The styrofoam cups were just the thing that pushed me over the edge.

LadyPhoenix

That's understandable. I hope the rest of your day and stay improves!

joshua362

I agree its odd behavior for a CL. I actually prefer the Starbucks paper cups to grab morning juice in as its larger and portable.

The ones I frequent, they seem to be doing the dishes ALL THE TIME. I'd rather they concentrate on refilling the F&B and not breaking down the food well in advance of the posted serving hours...

wharvey

Did you ask the MOD about your concern?

Old Hickory

Is this another shark fin soup thread? Do we need to boycott the Marriotts using styrofoam cups?

N965VJ

Seems to me like the paper cups hold more coffee, and I can grab a lid for "to go". If styrofoam cups were the same size I wouldn't mind.

dayone

The OP had a bad travel day. I know what that is like.

Fortunately...

Chewie

I checked into the Marriott in Berlin on Monday, they didn't have the lemongrass and citrus aromatherapy facial soap that I like from 2/3rds of the other Marriott hotels. I had to settle for lavender and ginger.

I feel your pain.

CJKatl

While I do realize complaining about styrofoam is, as a friend of mine who is presently a visitor in the US from another country often says, a first world problem, in fairness, it's not quite at the level of having to use a different flavor of soap. Styrofoam never decomposes, nor can it be recycled, as opposed to the paper cups. Nor is it it reusable, like ceramic mugs. It's also widely believed to cause cancer, especially when heated. And don't get me started about the employees who make this stuff. I went to high school with many kids whose fathers had passed away from black lung. Working making styrofoam, a pretty much unnecessary product, shouldn't likely expose workers to such a high chance of future health issues. Styrene's main benefit is it's cheap. The message the hotel sends is it's cheap and wasteful when it chooses the cost cutter over avoiding a likely carcinogen. That seems odd for a company that brags about being 100% smoke free in the US. It'd be a different story if there was another option. Instead, it was choose cancer or skip coffee.

From Wikipedia

CJKatl

Thank you. When I finally got my car back, I stopped to get dinner before driving back to Atlanta. After checking emails while eating, I pulled into FT. Your post actually made me laugh for the first time all day. It had been a bad trip, which, fortunately, is pretty rare for me.

Chewie

We've all had them (in fact multiple ones in a week even). Glad we could cheer you up.

You would have felt better if you put the "Earth Matters" and please reuse your linens and towels sign next to the cups. I certainly would have

northwest_buckeye

OP: Unfortunately, you are blaming the wrong product (or brand) in this case. Styrofoam (aka Blueboard) is a brand name of extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), commonly used for insulation in the roofing, wall panel, and other assorted construction industries (among many other uses). I believe what you are referring to are the white foam cups made of expanded polystyrene (EPS), which is a different material altogether. EPS is certainly not trademark protected by a large, multinational corporation to cover itself in cases of libel/slander/defamation.

I would suggest you know the substance you're complaining about before posting your hatred and distaste for a product that, chances are, you've benefitted from today... Without even knowing it. The link provided below should help explain things if I've negated to do so:

http://building.dow.com/na/en/produc.../rigidfoam.htm

DJ_Iceman

I certainly don't pay attention to any "potential carcinogens" since I learned about the lab tests on rats (for instance) that dope them with ridiculous amounts of any kind of substance and then make a causal leap to cancer. The signs outside any establishment in the state of California that state that "substances known to the state of California that may cause cancer are known to exist in this facility" have also dulled my ability to care, since practically ANY substance, in sufficient quantities, will prove lethal.

I feel perfectly comfortable, therefore, drinking the occasional cup of coffee out of a Styrofoam cup. And wouldn't raise the tiniest bit of eyebrow at a CL that used them. But that's just me...