Purchasing

There are several waste reduction considerations to take into account when purchasing school food service items. This table may help identify purchasing options that effectively promote a district-wide waste reduction program.

 

	Does the product reduce waste?	Can it be reused?	Is it recyclable?	Can it be composted?	Is the product available with recycled content?	Additional Information
Beverage Containers
Plastic Pouches	X		X			Pouches may save space in a dumpster if fully emptied. Los Angeles Unified School District is piloting a recycling project with Dupont.
Cartons			X	X		Cartons are easy to open and empty. Got Lunch? (Adobe PDF, 215 KB) is an article supporting food, milk cartons and other paper in your school composting feedstock.
Aseptic Containers			X			Aseptic Packaging Council offers information on recycling aseptic beverage containers.
Aluminum Cans			X
Plastic Bottles			X
Refillable Plastic Bottles		X	X			The Burlington County Office of Waste Management, Source Reduction At School Web site provides information regarding the use of refillable milk containers at school districts in Burlington County, New Jersey. Source reduction tips also provided.
Plastic Cups	X	X			X	Schools must have dishwashing capabilities.
Service Trays
Hard plastic	X	X			X	Schools must have dishwashing capabilities. Auburn Unified School, San Juan School and Santee School districts use reusable plastic trays.
Aluminum			X		X	Trays can be used for art projects.
Cardboard			X	X		Livermore Valley Joint School District and Davis Joint Unified recycle paper trays. [1]
Fiber Molded Cardboard				X		Fiber molded trays can be composted when shredded first. [2]
Polystyrene			X			Trays can be washed and used for art projects. Limited recycling opportunities exist through technologies such as International Foam Solution, Inc.'s Styro Solve System.
Eating Utensils
Metal	X	X	X			Schools must have dishwashing capabilities.
Plastic

Resources

1. "A Decision Model to Select Serviceware for School Foodservice." This article compares the costs for permanent and disposable serviceware. For a copy of this article please contact the American School Food Service Association directly.
2. The CIWMB's Food Waste Management site provides information and resources to help reduce food waste and save money on disposal costs. Resources include food scrap prevention tips, lists of local food banks and food rescue programs, on-site and off-site composting options and biodegradable products.
3. The CIWMB Recycled-Content Product database lists thousands of recycled products as well as manufacturers, distributors, reprocessors, mills, and converters that produce the products or process the materials used to make them. Search on food service equipment with at least 10 percent post-consumer content. Potential "buy recycled' items for the food service department of a school are lunch trays, plates, platters, cups, floor mats, paper napkins and towels, and even worm bins.
4. Earth's 911 provides information on local recycling, pollution prevention and environmental information.
5. The Department of Conservation, Division of Recycling maintains a list of California Refund Value (CRV) products for reference.
6. Polystyrene Recycling Sites--Western Region. Recycling is currently not an option for post-consumer food service items.
7. International Foam Solutions, Inc. offers technology to recycle polystyrene.

Footnotes

1. Davis Joint Unified School District recycles cardboard trays. Lightweight cardboard "carry out" trays are recyclable in Davis, even when contaminated with some food waste. The district purchased the Child Nutrition Tray from Sysco. The cost for a 500 tray case (Dapaco 7667) is $13.10 dollars per case. They are available plain (without child nutrition writing) and may cost a little less. For more program details, see the Davis Joint Unified School District Case Study and other Food Scrap Reduction Case Studies.
2. Davis Joint Unified School District experimented with composting the fiber molded serving trays. For more program details, see the Davis Joint Unified School District Case Study and other Food Scrap.

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