Huhtamaki North America announced that it has helped a coalition of the six largest school districts in the United States move away from polystyrene school lunch trays with a newly designed compostable molded fiber lunch plate.

Huhtamaki said the new molded fiber plates, made from 100 percent pre-consumer paper scraps, will be produced at its Waterville, Maine location.

The Urban School Food Alliance, made up of school districts from Miami-Dade, Dallas, Orlando, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, was created in the summer of 2012 to combine purchasing power and coordinate menu creation while working together to improve quality and incorporate sound environmental practices.

"We are very excited to be a part of this project and help remove significant amount of foam from the School Lunch disposables market," said Alexis Guetzlaff, Product Manager at Huhtamaki De Soto site in the US.

"This solidifies our leadership position in the school lunch market, not only as a sustainable alternative manufacturer, but in market as a whole. We are looking forward to a long partnership with the Urban Alliance and many other schools in the country."

Huhtamaki said through the use of the new compostable round plate, 225 million fewer polystyrene trays will end up in landfills each year. Furthermore, the plate will be used to teach students about the benefits of composting and waste reduction.