By Danny Yadron

House Democrats continued their protest of the use of Styrofoam cups at Capitol Hill cafeterias, penning a letter to Republican leadership demanding the removal of the disposable coffee cups.

Some Democratic staff members, meantime, said they were considering brewing coffee in their offices rather than patronizing the cafeteria.

The Styrofoam cups reappeared on Capitol Hill last week, after Rep. Dan Lungren (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Administration Committee, ended the House’s three-year compost program, which included using biodegradable coffee cups in House eateries. The compost program cost taxpayers $475,000 a year, and produced negligible energy savings because of electricity used in pulping and shipping the compost off to a special facility, Mr. Lungren said.

Amid the debate over how to keep the government running for the rest of the fiscal year, Democrats have been outraged about the cups and other disposable tableware, saying it not only fills landfills but raises health and environmental threats.

“The desire to save a few pennies should never come at the expense of jeopardizing staff, members and visitors’ health,” the lawmakers, led by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D., Ore.), write. “There are significant health and environmental risks associated with Styrofoam, as well as additional costs associated with increased waste removal.”

The lawmakers say the World Health Organization’s International Association for Research of Cancer considers styrene, a main component of Styrofoam, a “possible carcinogen.”

But Styrofoam is cheap, Mr. Lungren says.

“Who’s going to pay for it?” Salley Wood, Mr. Lungren’s spokeswoman, wrote in an email. “Do they really think that taxpayers are interested in subsidizing our cups and utensils?”

Other solutions being thrown around by Democratic staffers: They might pass out anti-Styrofoam stickers to affix to reusable mugs, or put up signs with directions to the Senate cafeteria, which does not use Styrofoam.