Pass the plates: The Green Plate program is back at PDX
At PDX, we’re always looking for simple changes that make the traveler experience better, and a little kinder to the planet. That’s why this winter, PDX brought back its popular Green Plate program, the first reusable dish program at a U.S. airport. Travelers visiting PDX’s Concourse C can now step up to Bambuza Vietnam Kitchen & Bar, MOD Pizza, or Mo’s Seafood & Chowder and ask for a plate, bowl, and utensils that get washed and reused instead of tossed. With this one easy switch, one of the best airports in the country is becoming a lot more sustainable.
How the program works
For travelers, using reusable dishes is easy. When you order at one of the participating locations, your server will ask whether you plan to eat in the dining area. If so, your meal will come on reusable plates and utensils, and when you’re done, you'll drop everything into one of the nearby bus tubs. No scraping, rinsing, or extra steps required.
Behind the scenes, our team takes care of it from there. They compost foods scraps, wash the dishes, then return them to the restaurants. Each spot has its own color-coded dishware, so everything finds its way back home once it’s clean.
But what if a traveler wants to save a slice of pizza for the plane or can’t finish their bowl of chowder? No problem. Anyone can ask for a to-go container at any time. The goal is to make dining at PDX work for everyone, whether you’re rushing to your gate or settling in for a relaxed lunch.
Back again and here to stay
This isn’t our first run at sustainable dishware. In 2017, PDX piloted the program after learning that 75% of customers ordered their food “for here” and that containers and plastic utensils made up 1/3 of the waste in food court areas.
After just three months, the pilot cut to-go packaging waste by 73%, composted 374 pounds of food scraps, and washed 10,000 dishes. We brought the program back in 2019, but paused it during COVID and main terminal construction.
“I’m excited to relaunch the Green Plate program at PDX,” says Erin Anderson, environmental specialist at the Port of Portland. “Not only will it help us meet our environmental goals, we’ll also be helping restaurants cut operating costs by reducing the number of expensive to-go boxes they use.”
The new Green Plate program is taking off in Concourse C but it will expand to the entire airport once the main terminal project wraps up and two more dishwashing rooms are added. By summer 2026, thousands of travelers each day will be able to enjoy meals served on dishware that’s washed, returned, and ready to be used again.
Sustainability, scaled up
The new Green Plate program is expected to reuse hundreds of thousands of dishes each year and keep thousands of pounds of single-use items out of landfills.
Once fully up and running, the new Green Plate program is expected to reuse hundreds of thousands of dishes each year and keep thousands of pounds of single-use items out of landfills.
This one small change has the potential to make a big difference, not only at PDX but across the country. Following our lead, other airports are looking to this program as a model for bringing reusable dishware to their own terminals.
Green Plate is just one of the ways the Port of Portland is working to conserve resources and care for the air, water, and land in our region. Learn more about our environmental commitment and the work we do to reduce our impact.
Find the Green Plate Program at:
Bambuza (Concourse C location)
