Compostable Trays Policy
Amending state policy to get styrofoam out of school cafeterias and fund the switch.
Styrofoam lunch trays can't be recycled, don't break down, and undermine the composting program before it starts: you can't compost a tray that isn't compostable. Removing them is the highest-leverage waste fix in a cafeteria.
Future Forward is working on amendments to existing legislation to phase styrofoam trays out of school lunchrooms. Crucially, the proposal pairs the requirement with a subsidy to schools' lunch-tray budgets, so districts can buy compostable trays in bulk without absorbing the cost, making the switch realistic, not just aspirational.
This is policy designed by someone inside the cafeteria it affects: divert the waste at its source, and every other initiative (composting, sorting, recycling) works better.
Recycling & Composting
Student-built recycling and composting, now running across six Pike County high schools.
Sort Smart
An AI cafeteria tray scanner that ends the guesswork and stops contamination at the source.
Bottle to Filament
Turning recycled bottles into 3D-printing filament, made right here in the community.