Dolco Packaging Wins Contract With LAUSD

Dolco Packaging Corp., a Studio City-based manufacturer of packaging products, said it has won a three-year, $3.6-million contract from the Los Angeles Unified School District to supply polystyrene foam lunch trays.

The company said 25% of the material used to make the trays will be recycled, a composition made possible by a federal Food and Drug Administration ruling last year that foam packaging used for serving food may contain recycled material. The school district said it will recycle its used food trays in compliance with state recycling mandates.

Polystyrene foam was once widely used in making food containers for fast-food restaurants, but environmental concerns have prompted many restaurants to turn to other materials. Dolco, which had sales of $67 million last year, hopes its recycling process may enable it to resume selling foam packaging to fast-food restaurants and other companies.