Polycarb – a breakthrough in preventing broken glassware
Operating a busy restaurant, bar, hotel, nightclub or any other hospitality business can be a real challenge in today’s competitive environment.
One of the things that can make a big difference to overheads is avoiding breakages – replacing stock can be an ongoing expense that any establishment would prefer to avoid. And of course, every accommodation property also wants to house and entertain its customers in a safe and hospitable environment.
Concerns over the safety of glass in restaurants and bars has often led to the use of various types of plastics, but these have had considerable shortcomings in durability and tactile satisfaction. In short, they tended to both look and feel cheap, resulting in an unsatisfactory alternative to the traditional glassware.
But the days of cheap and cheerful glasses that are easily recognised as plastic, have gone. Technical advances have greatly increased the popularity of unbreakable polycarbonate drinkware in establishments across Australia and New Zealand.
Polycarbonate is the strongest and the only type of plastic that will not crack or break into sharp pieces.
It has evolved a long way since the fragile picnic stems of yesteryear, offering many benefits to those in the hospitality and accommodation business.
Polycarbonate beverageware is now as good as, if not better, than traditional glass. Made from the same material as airplane windows, motorbike helmets, bullet-proof glass and shields, polycarbonate will not break, chip, crack or shatter, no matter how roughly it is treated, and it can pass safely through commercial dishwashers innumerable times.
This reasonably recently developed type of beverageware is ideal for large gatherings where broken glass is a danger. It does not change the taste of a drink, and when frosted in the fridge or freezer, its superior insulation properties over standard glassware means it can keep beverages at optimal drinking temperatures for longer.
This not only makes it ideal for a high proportion of the cold beverages that hotel or motel guests are likely to be imbibing, but they also bring an added bonus to the dinner table – when used for desserts, they help to keep them cool.
Being unbreakable means hotel or motel venues do not have to worry about broken glass in popular areas such as swimming pools, pool bars, buffets and bistros, as a dropped polycarbonate glass will not smash when it hits a hard floor, unlike a traditional glass.
This saves the bar staff having to spend valuable time clearing up breakages, plus eliminates the health and safety issues surrounding broken glass and its removal.
A welcome benefit to managers is that this allows them to focus on other important issues rather than having to deal with accidental cuts to either staff or guests – and especially to small children. Polycarbonate is superb for environments where children are present or for any large gatherings where people are consuming cold drinks.
