Denver is Helping Small Businesses Reduce Waste

Denver is Helping Small Businesses Reduce Waste

Published on October 28, 2025

In Denver, investing in community resilience also means investing in local businesses that surround them. Businesses in the food service industry use nearly one trillion pieces of disposable food service ware each year. In 2024, the city launched the Reuse Denver program to tackle this rising issue. The pilot program connected small restaurants and cafes with waste prevention experts and funding to replace single-use service ware. The goal of the pilot program was to help small businesses save money, reduce the use of single-use food service products and create a better dining experience for customers.

In the first year of the pilot, 27 businesses participated in the program. Participants received support and up to $600 worth of reusable food service ware. Items included plates, bowls, cups and cutlery that can be washed and reused again and again. Together, the businesses:

• Prevented 957,322 disposable food service ware items from being purchased and entering the waste stream annually.
• Saved $97,304 from avoided purchases of disposables.
• Reduced an average of 35,456 disposable items per business and saved $3,600 annually by avoiding purchasing disposable items.

The Table Public House, a family-friendly coffee shop and bar, joined Reuse Denver to complete its transition to 100% reusable service ware for onsite dining. With the help of this program, they now offer reusable service ware to all dine-in customers and for catered events, including:

• Metal cutlery, such as forks, knives, and spoons.
• Stoneware plates for their pastries.

The Table Public House reduced their use of 27,990 units of single-use disposable items annually. This reduction will generate an annual net savings of $2,454.71 for them.

Learn more about some of our 2024 participants and how they saved money and reduced waste from their onsite dining operations.

Interested in joining the Reuse Denver program? The application for this program is currently closed. Please fill out our interest form to receive future program updates and learn how to apply for the 2026 program.

Reuse Denver Interest Form

• Press release
• Sustainability