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Tessa Krajewski
Tessa began working for Clean Water Action as the Office Manager of the Ann Arbor office in November of 2024. She has always had a passion for environmental justice and conservation, which was solidified by her work as a farm hand on numerous small-scale organic farms in southeastern Michigan. Her history as an environmental canvasser for Michigan League of Conservation Voters and her interest in wildlife conservation also informs her work.
Before working at Clean Water Action, Tessa earned a Bachelor of Arts with concentrations in Art & Design and Polish Language Studies from the University
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
Before & After
Document
MA-Bedford-ReThink-Case-Study.pdf
(981.12 KB)
Business Information:
97 McMahon Rd
Bedford, MA 01730
United States
The Bottom Line
$11,777.40
annual net cost savings
261,720
disposable items reduced per year
5,796 lbs.
annual waste reduction
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.
Colron Chambers
Jersey City, NJ
Clean Water Action Board of Directors
Cedar Lake Triathlon Series, Chester, CT
The Valley Shore YMCA holds the Cedar Lake Triathlon series each summer in Chester, Connecticut. At each event in the series, the YMCA provided plastic bottled water and disposable cups. ReThink Disposable helped them make the switch to reusable silicone water bottles and reusable cups instead! Our New England Zero Waste Organizer collected the used bottles and cups for sanitization and reuse at the following events - making 3 of the 5 events in the 2024 series zero-waste! Overall, 600 disposable plastic items were kept out of the 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 disposable paper cup
- Plastic bottled water
Recommendations Implemented:
- Reusable durable plastic cup
- Reusable silicone water bottle
Before & After
Document
Business Information:
Cedar Lake
Chester, CT 06412
United States
The Bottom Line
100% savings
eliminating the purchasing of all disposable cups and bottles
600
disposable items reduced during the three zero-waste events
Rethink Disposable’s innovative bottles and process seamlessly provide our triathletes with hydration on the go while eliminating the wasteful paper cups originally provided. Our participants were extremely impressed with the functionality and simplistic process, all while providing them with the peace of mind of being environmentally conscious.
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.
House of Bread, Hartford, CT
The House of Bread Soup Kitchen is in the center of Connecticut’s Capitol City and serves over 250 daily meals to food-insecure residents. They were using primarily donated disposable cups, bowls, and utensils. ReThink Disposable helped the House of Bread make the transition to 100% reusable service ware for all meals.
Switching to reusables will save the organization over $1,600 annually and keep over 120,000 disposable items out of the trash each year. This translates to 845 pounds of annual waste reduction. The two inspirational nuns who volunteer for the program, Sr. Maureen and Sr. Theresa, report that switching to reusables also gives the food-insecure residents who dine at the House of Bread a more elevated dining experience, contributing to a community feeling when dining together.
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 plastic cold cup
- Single-use expanded polystyrene hot cup
- Single-use plastic spoon
- Single-use plastic fork
- Single-use plastic knife
- Single-use paper soup container with lid
Recommendations Implemented:
- 5oz durable plastic cup
- 8oz ceramic mug
- Stainless steel spoon
- Stainless steel fork
- Stainless steel butter knife
- 8oz ceramic bowl
Document
ReThink-CT-Case-Study-House-of-Bread.pdf
(1.19 MB)
Business Information:
27 Chestnut St
Hartford, CT 06120
United States
The Bottom Line
$1,643.70
net annual savings
123,500
disposable items reduced per year
845 pounds
annual waste reduction
The House of Bread is always looking for ways to improve how we can best help our clients AND how we can help Mother Nature! Our next step toward improving our environmental impact was to eliminate the plastic utensils, bowls, and cups that we use and replace them with reusable, washable items. As a New England Zero Waste Organizer, Amber was instrumental in making this happen and was simply a joy to work with.
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.