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Harrington Elementary School, Lexington, MA
Harrington Elementary School, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, enrolls 363 students. It is the second school in the district to transition to reusable trays and cutlery in the cafeteria, after the 2020 construction of a new Hastings Elementary. Harrington was identified as an ideal candidate to renovate the existing kitchen since the location had a broken under-thecounter dishwasher and access to plumbing infrastructure.
The goal became to replace the broken dishwasher with a new hightemperature, ventless, energy-efficient, stand-up model. With support from Lexington’s State Representative Michelle Ciccolo, $25,000 was allocated in the State Budget for the purchase of the dish machine, and a generous grant from the Community Endowment of Lexington for $10,000 funded the purchase of stainless-steel Ahimsa trays, forks, spoons, and additional reuse equipment. The cost of installation, which increased from initial estimates due to electrical and plumbing upgrades, was covered by the district’s School Lunch Revolving Account, totaling $45,000. This investment also streamlined kitchen operations, removing unused equipment, freeing up space, and allowing staff to wash pots and pans in a dish machine, whereas previously they had been hand-washing all serviceware.
Business Profile:
- Name: Harrington Elementary School
- Location: Lexington, MA
- On-site Dining: Yes
- Take-out: No
- Warewashing: Champion Commercial, Dishwasher Model No. DH-6000T-VHR
- Employees: 3 kitchen staff, 1 dishwasher, 2 waste monitors daily (volunteer/staff)
Packaging practices prior to ReThink Disposable:
- Single-use BPI-certified 5-compartment compostable tray
- Single-use BPI-certified compostable fork
- Single-use BPI-certified compostable spoon
Recommendations Implemented:
- Stainless-steel 5-compartment Ahimsa tray
- Stainless-steel Ahimsa fork
- Stainless-steel Ahimsa spoon
Images below: Single-use trays, forks and spoons were replaced with reusable stainless steel serviceware, and a new warewashing machine.
Before & After
Business Information:
Harrington, MA
United States
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is $3,696 in annual net savings, achieved by eliminating 175,500 disposable items and 2 tons of waste per year, adding $1,000 in compost-hauling savings, and recouping reusable foodware costs in just 3.2 months while supporting a new part-time dishwashing position.
$3,696
Total annual net cost savings
175,500
Disposable items reduced per year
2 tons
Annual waste reduction
I am incredibly proud that our school is helping to lead the way in reducing trash and waste. In doing so, we are not only protecting the environment but also saving taxpayer dollars. I am grateful to Clean Water Action for coordinating this initiative, to State Representative Ciccolo for securing funding, and to the Community Endowment of Lexington for providing the new trays and utensils. This work is especially meaningful because our students understand its impact. As members of Harrington’s Sustainability Team shared, ‘We like the new dishwasher because it’s better for the environment since we’re not throwing anything away. This is better for the future because the compostable trays we used before caused pollution when they were produced. Using reusable trays can help slow down global warming.’ Each day at lunch, our students are learning what it means to care for their wider community.
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.
Nicole Estey
Based in western Massachusetts, Nicole brings a strong blend of financial knowledge and a deep commitment to environmental protection to her role, supporting financial and administrative operations across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
Gage Frank
Gage brings more than a decade of experience in fundraising, communications, and public-interest work across the nonprofit, government, corporate, and political sectors to Clean Water Action's team.
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.
Before & After
Document
Business Information:
982 Market St
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States
The Bottom Line
204,800
Single-Use Cups Eliminated Annually
93%
Return Rate
12,700
Pounds Of Refuse Diverted Annually
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.
Emily Plunkett
Emily first joined Clean Water Action in 2023 as the Office Manager in Ann Arbor, MI then moved to the National Communications team in 2024. Before Clean Water, she received her Master's degree in chemistry with a focus on analytical methods and materials science research. Emily has also volunteered with the Virginia Scientist-Community Interface, co-authoring academic papers, public comments, and technical white papers.
Emily has a passion for native plants and sci-fi/fantasy media, and an even stronger passion for her cat, Sharkey.