Case Studies from our ReThink Disposable Team.
La Enramada Restaurant y Taqueria
La Enramada Restaurant y Taqueria is a community favorite in San Jose, California for Brazilian caldo de pollo and authentic enchiladas Michoacanas. With the help of our Zero Waste Specialists to convert away from single-use items, La Enramada is eliminating over 360,000 items from the waste stream every year and saving $15,427 annually!
Thai Chili Express
Thai Chili Express is a long-time favorite in San Jose, California where locals enjoy traditional Thai cuisine as well as a variety of vegetarian options. With the help of our Zero Waste Specialists to convert away from single-use items, Thai Chili is eliminating 614.8 pounds from the waste stream every year and saving over $1,300 annually!
Korean Palace
Korean Palace is a family-friendly restaurant and banquet hall in San Jose, California. They enjoy hosting events and welcome community to enjoy their delicious Korean cuisine. With the help of our Zero Waste Specialists, Korean Palace is eliminating 240.1 pounds of waste annually and saving $444 per year that can be reinvested in other areas of the business.
Bedford Public Schools, Bedford, MA
Thanks to a generous donation from PlasticFreeRestaurants.org, the schools’ polystyrene (foam) lunch trays were traded for Ahimsa stainless steel reusable trays in December 2024. This was the final phase of a district-wide cafeteria waste reduction program; since 2023, the district
has implemented a food share table, and separating recycling, food scraps, and liquids from true trash.
Cedar Lake Triathlon Series, Chester, CT
The Valley Shore YMCA holds the Cedar Lake Triathlon series each summer in Chester, Connecticut. At each event in the series, the YMCA provided plastic bottled water and disposable cups. ReThink Disposable helped them make the switch to reusable silicone water bottles and reusable cups instead! Our New England Zero Waste Organizer collected the used bottles and cups for sanitization and reuse at the following events - making 3 of the 5 events in the 2024 series zero-waste!
House of Bread, Hartford, CT
The House of Bread Soup Kitchen is in the center of Connecticut’s Capitol City and serves over 250 daily meals to food-insecure residents. They were using primarily donated disposable cups, bowls, and utensils. ReThink Disposable helped the House of Bread make the transition to 100% reusable service ware for all meals, saving the organization over $1,600 annually and keeping over 120,000 disposable items out of the trash each year.
ReThink Disposable Case Study | Borough of Red Bank
In 2024, ten New Jersey municipalities passed Skip the Stuff Ordinances, which has restaurants only provide single-use cutlery and condiments upon request for take-out orders. Red Bank’s Green Team, with the help of Clean Water Action, created educational flyers in English and Spanish and provided outreach to businesses and residents.
Fruitvale Community Restaurants: ReThink Disposable Case Study
Five local Fruitvale restaurants teamed up to reduce single-use disposable waste by over 187,600 individual pieces and over 3,240 pounds — annually. After an average payback period of 2.74 months, this group of restaurants will collectively be saving over $10,000 every year by purchasing fewer disposables, dramatically reducing plastic pollution in their operations, and providing real-time examples of businesses that are both eco-friendly and economical in the Fruitvale community.
How Alameda County Is ReThinking Disposables [Video]
Working with funding from StopWaste and Ocean Foundation and in collaboration with Gurdwara Temple, Julie’s Coffee & Tea, and Freight & Salvage, ReThink Disposable is excited to share this video highlighting the work happening in the Bay Area to reduce plastic waste. Each of these businesses are realizing significant reduction in single use disposable foodware and a savings to their bottom line!
San Francisco Music Venues Raise the Bar for Sustainability: Case study on a reusable cup pilot at three San Francisco venues
In a groundbreaking initiative to combat single-use plastic pollution, several iconic San Francisco music venues took the leap towards sustainability by switching to reusable cups. Supported by San Francisco Environment Department and Clean Water Fund’s ReThink Disposable program, these venues teamed up with reusable cup providers r.World and TURN, leading the way in the entertainment industry.
ReThink Disposable Case Study | Manila Eatery
Manila Eatery is successfully implementing these ReThink Disposable cost saving practices: Switched from single-use plastic plates to reusable plates, and replaced two different sizes of single-use plastic bowls with reusable bowls.
ReThink Disposable Case Study | Palo Alto Unified School District
Palo Alto Unified successfully transitions single-use foodware to reusable in 12 elementary schools using a central kitchen distribution model earning an annual net savings of $25,000.
ReThink Disposable Case Study | Hang Ten Boiler
Alameda, CA based Hang Ten Boiler hosts many dine in and to go customers, all hungry for their Hawaiian, Asian fusion, and Cajun style seafood dishes. After making the switch to all reusable in-house dining foodware - accounting for the costs of hiring a new dishwasher and water - Hang Ten saved $3,988 each year.
ReThink Disposable Case Study | The Conservatory for Coffee, Tea & Cocoa
The Conservatory for Coffee, Tea & Cocoa in Culver City, CA replaced disposable cups, utensils, and stirrers and advertised a "Bring Your Own Cup" incentive. The result was no impact to labor costs, only positive feedback from customers, and $6,899 saved in annual net cost savings.
ReThink Disposable Case Study & Video (English & Spanish) | Shish Grill
"First of all, your dishes are going to look a lot better, more presentable and more on the upscale side. And you’re going to save a lot of money. No one hates to do that. You work hard for your money, so saving will go a long way. Third of all, I mean, you’re going green, help the environment as well." - Nancy Annan, Owner
ReThink Disposable Case Study | University of San Francisco Market Cafe
Bon Appétit Management Company plans to implement the ReThink Disposable program campus-wide at USF, after a successful pilot program saved more than $150,000 in disposable foodware costs by eliminating more than two million items with no additional labor cost.
ReThink Disposable Participating Business Testimonials
Highlights from food establishments that have received ReThink Disposable assistance.
ReThink Disposable Case Study | Cybelle's Pizza
The owner of Cybelle’s Pizza on Bush Street has been historically challenged to implement reusable food service ware in his fast paced restaurant. 50% of his business caters to delivery and customers grabbing a quick slice to go. Even faced with these challenges, the results of this program showed a significant drop in disposables.
ReThink Disposable Case Study & Video | Lola's Chicken Shack
The owners of Lola's Chicken Shack were able to significantly minimize disposable foodware for their high schooler lunch clientele by replacing large to-go boxes with a smaller food tray, eliminating disposable lids, and educational signage. These simple changes save $1,458 and 573 lbs of waste annually!
ReConsidera Desechable Estudio De Caso | Restaurante El Metate
Francisco Hernández, propietario: “De cualquier manera que lo mire uno, el programa ReConsidera Desechable es beneficioso para todos.”
ReThink Disposable Case Study & Video | Bishop O’Dowd High School
“I think it has been a success and will go a long way towards reducing landfill waste and show alternatives to disposables not only to the adults but as well as the kids who go to school here.” - Chef Todd Morales
ReThink Disposable Case Study | El Metate Restaurant (English & Spanish)
Fernando, the owner of El Metate, worried about potential loss of easy to throw away items. After making the switch to reusable cutlery and portion cups with bus tubs and racks helping to reduce product loss, the elevated experience resulted in more dine-in customers and an annual cost savings of nearly $9,000.
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