Alliance Compostable Plates Do Not Contain PFAS

NEW YORK, August 14 , 2019 – The Urban School Food Alliance (Alliance), a coalition of the largest school districts in the United States, wants to ease concerns: Its compostable plates DO NOT contain per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), non-biodegradable chemicals that are linked to some of types of cancers. Its manufacturer, Huhtamaki, Inc., certified this in a letter sent to the Alliance.

Alliance districts include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Orange County (Orlando), Broward County (Fort Lauderdale), Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston.  They challenged industry in 2014 to develop an innovative and affordable environmentally-friendly round plate to replace the use of millions of polystyrene trays across districts.  Shifting from polystyrene trays to compostable plates helps reduce plastics pollution, an important step for cities in beginning to slash significant amounts of waste going to overburdened landfills.

The Alliance created the plate with the guidance of the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the nation’s leading environmental and public health organizations. The American-made molded fiber compostable round plate is produced from 100 percent pre-consumer recycled paper fibers. The Alliance round plate has five compartments, with the beverage compartment strategically placed in the middle to balance the weight of a typical meal. The innovative design prevents hinging or bending and is easy to handle.

Note : This post was edited on December 14, 2021 to include a current letter from the manufacturer.