April 22, 2008 - Busch Entertainment - operator of major U.S. theme parks including SeaWorld and Busch Gardens - is quietly retooling its entire foodservice operations to use biodegradable food containers and tableware made from organically farmed materials such as corn and bamboo, Chicago Tribune reports.

The company has been experimenting with biodegradable foodservice items in employee lounges at its SeaWorld Orlando, Discovery Cove, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay theme parks for the past year. The program has recently been expanded to a few public restaurants as well. Busch Entertainment says it plans to eliminate polystyrene foam and petrochemical-based plastic tableware from 21 of its foodservice operations by the end of the year, and targets a full conversion to biodegradable dishware throughout its ten-park chain by the end of 2009.

So far no signage has been posted in public, although plans are in the works to promote the switch to biodegradable, says Judy Jenkins, SeaWorld's director of education. "It's great that we're doing it," she says, "but the power of message - the impossibly intangible impact of that down the road - it's not measurable, but it's huge." Thanks to its wide reach and extensive purchasing power, Busch Entertainment has the opportunity to demonstrate the viability of biodegradable materials not just to visitors but to suppliers as well.

Busch Entertainment spent a year researching suppliers to find biodegradable foodservice items in appropriate sizes and shapes, in some cases persuading manufacturers to adapt to the company's specific needs. Volume is an issue as well - its entire foodservice operations mowed through 12.5 million pieces of dishware last year.

"It's an evolving, new industry, and it has to adapt to supply and demand, just like everything else," says Ina Muencheberg, corporate director of culinary operations supply management for Busch Entertainment.