Officials say a Maine fiber plant is the first in the country to make compostable lunch trays, and it will sell the trays to six large school districts as an alternative to polystyrene foam.
The trays will be delivered for the start of the school year to districts in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Orlando and Dallas.
The Portland Press Herald reports U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine and U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon toured the Huhtamaki plant in Waterville on Monday. The plant specializes in molded fiber products and employs 550 people.
Pingree says it's the first fiber plant in the U.S. to manufacture compostable lunch trays that are cost competitive. A Finnish company has owned the plant since the 1990s.
