Single-use cups and takeout containers are poisoning our community.
They’re purchased once, used for minutes, and then become litter, landfill, incinerator ash, or contamination in recycling and compost streams.
They also impose real costs on our community—litter clean-up, stormwater maintenance, pollution in our river, disposal fees, and the public health impacts from plastics and “forever chemical” additives.
Smarter alternatives are simple and within reach: make reusable containers the default where feasible, and use certified compostables where reuse isn’t practical. While simple, this solution comes with a price tag, because more sustainable alternatives will cost more.
With your help, the Washoe Sustainability Fund can bring the following solutions to the Truckee Meadows:
- Sustainable Packaging Fund to reimburse small business owners the cost difference between single-use plastic plates, cups, bowls and utensils and more compostable or reusable alternatives. Restaurant owners would simply submit receipts for their purchased sustainable ware. The managing nonprofit agency would reimburse based on an establish price difference. Program costs would include program design, reimbursement processing, administrative overhead and statistical tracking of diversion rates.