REDUCING SINGLE-USE PLASTICS

Disposable gloves
(non-recyclable)

Includes disposable food safety gloves worn by culinary (possibly custodial) teams.  The vast majority of gloves found in the audits are clear vinyl with some blue nitrile gloves mixed in. Neither are recyclable. 

Reduction Potential: Low – Medium

Material Definition

Non-recoverable Latex, nitrile, or vinyl gloves, predominantly used by kitchen or custodial staff.

Alternatives

  • Audit operations for unnecessary glove use
  • Refresh training on proper glove use

Examples from Audit

Mostly clear vinyl gloves with some blue nitriles mixed in. Primarily from the Cafe kitchen staff, but some from the custodial staff in the MicroKitchens and Office streams.

Alternatives

The use of food safety gloves for specific uses, including the handling of ready-to-eat foods, is required in commercial kitchens by federal and state regulations.  However, some glove use reduction may be possible without compromising food safety objectives. For example, gloves may not be necessary for tasks that don’t involve food contact, for contact with food that is about to be cooked, or when serving food with utensils where no hand contact will occur.  Preliminary observations by the Compass team found numerous instances of gloves being worn for tasks that don’t require them. Training teams on correct glove use may result in some glove use reduction.