Dish Truck is a regionally-based pollution prevention Initiative that provides durable dishes to event coordinators, street food vendors, and the general public to use in place of disposables.
Dish Truck begins with the idea that the best way to reduce waste and pollution is to not create it in the first place. What really kicked things off was the change to the food scraps recycling Composting guidelines for programs offered by Tompkins County Solid Waste and Cayuga Compost. The presence of plastic in the waste products fueled the importance of eliminating waste where possible.
The Dish Truck project was started in part as an alternative to disposable dishware. The result created the Dish Truck Project- an Initiative formed to provide quality durable dishware service to food vendors and their customers who want to eliminate waste through the safe and efficient reuse of dishes.
The Project seeks to transform the concept into an event-based, volunteer-staffed not-for-profit created to serve the food services at festivals sponsored events and public celebrations. Because it is currently cheaper, it is the norm for food businesses to offer their meals on disposable dishes and pay for the associated landfill fees. Several events have been successfully completed with the support and endorsement of the sponsoring organizer and the Health Department. A fundamental challenge is:
How can Dish Truck’s services be financially sustainable and competitive?
