Disposable food ware is convenient. We get it! Instead of cleaning up, you might ask guests to toss out foam cups, plastic cutlery, and paper plates.

But paper take 20 years to decompose in the landfill. Foam takes even longer (a whole million years longer). No fear, trade-offs do exist!

Skip the dishes. Skip the waste.

You heard that right. To all who care about the environment and are cautiously gathering in groups again, it's time to make your event zero waste and pandemic safe!

Anita Soto created Waste Busters, a dish-sharing service intended to change the casual dining culture. It's a program designed for informal events, like game nights, house parties, picnics, meetings, and birthday parties. You know, the places where you would usually eat off single-use plastic or paper.

What is a dish-sharing service?

You might still be wondering, "what exactly is a dish sharing service?" And that's okay. It's a new concept. But, it's a good concept!

Dish sharing is exactly how it sounds. Soto will quite literally share her dishes with you.

Why choose Waste Buster's dish sharing Service?

Feel guilt when purchasing plastic/paper plates.
Don't want to wash dishes
Don't want things to get broken
Do not have enough dishes to serve guests
Not a fancy sit-down event

Celebrate Zero-waste Gatherings

Anita Santo created this dish-sharing service to solve these problems and help you make your gatherings zero waste.

Right now, this service can accommodate up to 100 people with an eclectic, whimsical collection of dinner plates, salad plates, cups, and silverware. - What can you currently accommodate?

How much does the service cost?

You will be charged a small service for washing the dishes. We want to guarantee that dishes have been washed and sanitized according to health department guidelines, just like you would find at a restaurant.

How does it work?

Email (wastebustersomaha@gmail.com) the date of the event. You'll receive an order form.
Within 48 hours of receiving the order form, she'll send an official confirmation.
Sanitized and sealed in totes, your dishes will be ready for pick up, or, for a delivery fee of $15, you can have them dropped off before your event.
Your guests use the dishes - complimenting you on the whimsical, mismatched designs and your eco-savviness - then return them dirty to the totes.
You bring the dishes back within 24 hours of your event, or we pick them up if you've opted for delivery.
That's it! No washing and no trash! Any food waste can be sent with the dishes and will be commercially composted by Hillside Solutions.

Washing fee: $10 per 100 items. A set of cutlery (fork, spoon, butter knife), counts as 1 item. You can pay using venmo, cash, or check.

Dishes are washed, rinsed, and sanitized between users.

PS: This is what service for 100 looks like (dinner plates, side plates, bowls, cold cups, full cutlery). It comes with two extra totes to receive dirty dishes, two buckets for scraping food, and a five-gallon drink dispenser of ice water.

Additionally, though she has enough to service a party of 100 people, that’s as big as she can accept for the time being.

What items are available right now?

Besides dishes, she does have cloth napkins, catering equipment, such as drink dispensers and chaffing dishes, which help people avoid single-serve beverages, and these big foil food service trays and containers.

What items are on your wish list?

She is currently accepting donations of melamine dishes and other similar items to those she already has. If someone is wondering what’s specifically on her wish list, they can reach out.

If you’re looking to host a small gathering or event, we highly recommend reaching out to Anita Soto. Not only will you be helping lower your carbon footprint, but you’ll also help spread the support for this small business all while sparking conversation about conservation-related chatter.

Waste Busting Holiday Gathering:

Thank you to one compost clubber who hired Waste Busters for their holiday gathering and shared photos.

Dish Sharing: A Waste Busting Concept for Small Events