The omnipresent polystyrene tray, a fixture in cafeteria and fast-food restaurants across the country, is almost too cheap to replace at 4 cents apiece. Yet the public schools in Philadelphia and Baltimore are switching to a molded-fiber compostable plate, made from recycled paper fibers, that is nearly as inexpensive at 5 cents each.
The round plates have five compartments, to hold the elements of a school meal, with the beverage compartment in the center of the plate to make it easier for students to balance the weight. The Urban School Food Alliance, whose 11 big-city members feed 3.7 million pupils daily, used its purchasing power to reduce the unit cost of the composable plate.
Philadelphia has about 131,000 students and Baltimore 81,000 students in public schools. The districts estimate that together they will divert 19 million polystyrene food service items from landfills. School officials said the compostable trays will reduce plastic waste. The Urban School Food Alliance has members from New York to Los Angeles and Miami to Boston.