Housing and Dining has made more eco-friendly changes for students.

New biodegradable cups made of a polylactic acid (PLA) resin will replace the cups made of styrene, a product similar to Styrofoam.

Ileia Luke, assistant director for marketing and public relations of Housing and Dining, said the new products are American-made and of a resin derived from plants, a sustainable resource that can be continually produced.

Separate cups will be used for hot materials because the new cups melt when filled with hot drinks.

The new hot cups will be manufactured by ChampWare and are made of 100 percent sustainable materials. Although reusable mugs have been offered as an alternative to styrene for 16 years, Housing and Dining has been working on these new eco-friendly changes for about a year.

Luke said the green changes are currently being introduced, and Housing and Dining hopes they will be fully in place before finals.

“[The changes] are presently in the works. If you visit some of the residence halls you’ll see that we’re progressively making the switch over,” Luke said. “Hopefully by the end of this semester everything from last year will have been used up.”

In addition to new cups, dining utensils, containers and shopping bags will also be replaced by products made with a biodegradable “plastarch” material, PSM. According to PSM’s Web site, the material consists of nearly 80 percent corn starch. The product is heat resistant, microwavable and will not add additional toxins to the air.

The plasticware for gelatin, sandwiches, fruit and salads has already been changed to a product made of PLA by Nature’s PLAstic. PLA, a polymer derived from corn and other plants, uses up to 50 percent fewer fossil fuels than conventional plastic and composts in 45 days, according to the PLA Web site.

Because of the containers, salad portions are smaller, but Joshua Johnson, assistant director for marketing and public relations of Housing and Dining, said the containers are comparable in size and will cost the same.

“We try to choose [containers] that are similar because that affects pricing.”

To cut down water and soap waste, all dining halls are getting rid of trays. This measure “reduces the amount of containers the students take with them, which reduces the amount students are throwing away,” Luke said.

Many students have requested the changes that are being implemented, Johnson said.

Junior communications major Ashley Carter said she is happy with NIU’s effort but feels it could still improve.

“People use a lot of napkins. There should be a dispenser where you pull a certain amount instead of grabbing a bunch of them,” Carter said.

Johnson said Housing and Dining is trying to meet the needs of NIU students by providing more eco-friendly options.

“We’re being responsible to our environment and our community,” Johnson said.