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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.
Franciscan Charities of Newark, NJ
Franciscan Charities, located in Newark, New Jersey serves hot lunches five days a week to the most vulnerable. The organization’s founding is based on the belief that each person should have a warm, welcoming place to find nourishment and to be treated with dignity and kindness.
Before partnering with Clean Water Fund’s ReThink Disposable campaign, Franciscan Charities used all disposable single-use foodware, spending thousands of dollars every month. The garbage generated from the single-use disposables was costly, from excess garbage bags to the expense of hauling away the refuse. After working with the ReThink Disposable team, Franciscan Charities switched to providing meals on exclusively reusable foodware, honoring their community with more dignity.
These operational changes resulted in the elimination of 10,750 pounds of trash from the local landfill and incinerator, every year. Ultimately, reusables have helped break the cycle of poverty by redirecting critical funds needed to support client care. Read the Case Study.
242 S 8th St.
Newark, NJ 07103
United States
The Bottom Line
$47,943
936,000
10,750
We are appreciative that we won’t only save up to $50,000 every year but we are also moving toward being better stewards of our environment.
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.