Big urban school districts to replace trays with compostable plates

NEW YORK — The Urban School Food Alliance (Alliance), a coalition of six of the largest school districts in the United States, said it will introduce a compostable round plate later this month to replace the polystyrene trays used in its members’ cafeterias.

Nutrition and foodservice directors in the Alliance’s school districts—New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami-Dade, Dallas and Orlando—say the round shape allows students to eat their food off of plates like they do at home.

"This news is a game changer," Chairman Eric Goldstein, who also serves as chief executive officer of school support services for the New York City Department of Education, said in a statement. "As leaders in school meals, we're proud to create a product that students will not only find easy to use, but one that also protects the environment for many years to come."

The six districts combined serve 2.5 million meals a day, and project to eliminate 225 million polystyrene trays from landfills annually.