Filter By:
Type
State
Priority
Posted On
Search Results
Michigan Resistance Summit 2.0
Clean Water Action's Annual Celebration: The Fun is in the Fight!
Conmunities Over Corporations - Michigan Capitol Day 2025
Bedford Public Schools, Bedford, MA
Bedford Public Schools, located in Bedford, Massachusetts, serve approximately 2,500 students across four schools: Lt. Eleazer Davis Elementary (PK–2), Lt. Job Lane Elementary (3–5), John Glenn Middle School (6–8), and Bedford High School (9–12). Approximately 1,400 lunches are served daily across the district.
Thanks to a generous donation from PlasticFreeRestaurants.org, the schools’ polystyrene (foam) lunch trays were traded for Ahimsa stainless steel reusable trays in December 2024. This was the final phase of a district-wide cafeteria waste reduction program; since 2023, the district has implemented a food share table, and separating recycling, food scraps, and liquids from true trash.
Read The Full Case Study Here (PDF)
ReThink Disposable is a program of Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund conducted in partnership with local organizations, businesses, and government agencies. Generous support is provided by a changing list of public and private funders. To learn more about the program, its partners, and funders, visit: www.rethinkdisposable.org.
Packaging practices prior to ReThink Disposable:
Single-use expanded polystyrene 5-compartment tray
Recommendations Implemented:
Durable stainless-steel 5-compartment tray
97 McMahon Rd
Bedford, MA 01730
United States
The Bottom Line
$11,777.40
261,720
5,796 lbs.
In the Lane school, we have gone from 18 bags of trash a lunch day down to 6. The reusable trays have vastly reduced the amount of garbage thrown out and have actually streamlined the whole lunchtime custodial operation.
Reducing Single-Use Food Packaging
ReThink Disposable works with local governments, businesses and institutions, and consumers of single use food packaging to inspire a cultural shift away from single-use "throwaway" lifestyle.
The Warfield, San Francisco
The Warfield, originally built in the 1920s, was a vaudeville and movie palace and became a 2,250-person capacity concert hall in 1979 when Bill Graham Presents booked a run of shows with Bob Dylan. The Warfield made the switch from single-use plastic and paper cups to exclusively using reusable r.Cups, available in various sizes (5, 9, 12, 16, and 24-ounce sizes).
Business Profile:
During a 6-month service period with r.Cup, spanning from May to October, The Warfield incurred a cost of $25,800 for r.Cup services. To offset this cost, The Warfield implemented a 3 percent sustainability fee for each drink sold in an r.Cup, resulting in revenue of more than $30,000 since the launch of r.Cup in May 2023. This revenue has the potential to turn r.Cup into a profit center for any venue.
Taking into account r.Cup services, income from the sustainability fee, and elimination of purchasing single-use disposable cups, The Warfield anticipates annual net-earnings of more than $33,000 that will go towards sustaining the reusable cup service into the future.
Read more about The Warfield in San Francisco Music Venues Raise the Bar for Sustainability: Case study on a reusable cup pilot at three San Francisco venues.
982 Market St
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States
The Bottom Line
204,800
93%
12,700
Things have gone wonderfully and we can’t be happier to be part of the initiative.
Reducing Single-Use Food Packaging
ReThink Disposable works with local governments, businesses and institutions, and consumers of single use food packaging to inspire a cultural shift away from single-use "throwaway" lifestyle.