ReThink Disposable: Middletown School District

ReThink Disposable joined the Middletown, CT school district’s efforts to fight single-use disposable waste and plastic pollution by phasing out all disposable diningware in school cafeterias district-wide. All schools have an operating commercial dishwasher, giving them the ability to wash reusables in-house. The reusable foodware was purchased with funding from a CT Equipment Assistance grant, individual donors through a Sustainable CT campaign, and a utensil donation from Plastic Free Restaurants. The school is unique in its approach to reusable foodware. All disposables are being replaced with a reusable alternative, a one-to-one swap for each item. The transition is happening in several phases with the first phase of reusable plates and bowls rolled out in the fall of 2024.