Founded and maintained by Cheryl Boerger, Plates for People and the Planet is a free community service offering washable dishes, cups, glasses, flatware and linens for up to 400.
Cheryl’s husband works part-time for the the local newspaper in Mt. Shasta, and she often joins him at various community events and happenings that he’s covering for the paper. A few years ago, she began to notice the tremendous amount of garbage generated by these gatherings. Trash cans and dumpsters would routinely be overflowing at the end of the event, which bothered her. So she decided to find a way to address the problem. What she came up with Plates for People and the Planet as a unique way to provide an alternative to the plastic glasses and cutlery and paper plates so common at gatherings big and small.
As a community service, she provides plates, cutlery and coffee cups for various local events, fundraisers and meetings – and she does it all free of charge. Since Cheryl’s first function in March, she estimates that she has saved more than 250,000 disposable plates from ending up in a landfill.
Plates for People and the Planet can be reached at (530)-926-0304. There is no charge for the service, but items should be returned washed and in the bins. Donations are gratefully accepted to increase the inventory and add items to the service.