Reducing packaging waste as a growing priority has already taken
hold in the restaurant industry. According to the National
Restaurant Association, 62 percent of fine dining and 57 percent
of casual dining operators said in a recent survey that they
plan on adopting more environmentally friendly packaging when it
comes to disposables and take-out products in particular. At
Niles Township High School District 219 in north suburban
Illinois, dumping the disposables altogether has helped
dramatically reduce waste at the back door, according to
Christian, who partnered with OrganicLife to improve the
foodservice and assist the school in its sustainability goals,
including becoming a zero-waste kitchen in five years. It's a
decision that has two major factors: switch to permanent ware
and risk using more water, energy, chemicals and labor to do the
washing or switch to using environmentally friendly disposables
and risk increased waste and costs to buy the products. "There
are no absolutes, so if you don't have a