Palo Alto has a community-wide goal of sending zero waste to landfills.  Zero Waste is a philosophy and a design principle that goes beyond recycling by taking a whole systems approach to managing the flow of resources through society, eliminating waste whenever possible.

One way organizations can help eliminate waste going to landfills is to stock their lunch and break rooms with reusable and washable dishes, cups and cutlery.  With a little planning, special events can be serviced with reusable products as well.

If the use of reusable dishes and cutlery is not possible, consider purchasing compostable service ware instead.  While not as environmentally friendly, because compostable dishes, cups and cutlery are still meant to be used once and then disposed, composting them does reduce their impact.  Instead of being landfilled and releasing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, compostable service ware is turned into a soil amendment for landscaping purposes.

The information in this document is meant to assist you in selecting compostable service ware for your organization or event.

For the Compostable Food Service Ware Vendor List, click here.