Getting toxic and polluting plastics out of your school cafeteria!

Most pre-K-12 school administrators will agree that teaching students to recycle and reduce garbage is important. Yet all too often, the message is not consist throughout the school day and it is rarely a school priority.

Plastic trash in the school cafeteria, such as polystyrene (or styrofoam, or foam) trays and plastic “sporks” (or cutlery), is not only an environmental concern, but may actually pose serious health threats to children, either directly through the migration of chemicals to hot food, or indirectly by way of the disposal of plastic trash through incineration (or burning) of garbage.

Watch: "SORT2SAVE Cheer- zero waste cafeteria is almost here!"

The chemical styrene, a major component of polystyrene, is toxic and polluting from the start of manufacturing and forever thereafter. Styrene has been categorized as a “reasonably anticipated to be carcinogen" by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Many studies have shown that styrene leaches from containers into hot food. When styrene containers become litter, they easily end up in our rivers and oceans, continuing to break down into microplastics or tiny bits of toxic-laden plastics that are killing marine wildlife and contaminating our seafood.
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In many schools across the U.S., school meals are still served on toxic and polluting styrene foam trays. Yet the long term effects of hot food served daily to children, directly onto trays made of the chemical styrene - sometimes 3 times per day and over a 13-year period - has yet to be studied.  And school food can be very hot! To ensure food safety, state health regulations typically require certain school food items be kept at temperatures of 140 degrees or higher while sitting in serving trays in the cafeteria food line.  

Of added concern, many children enjoy scraping their foam trays when they are eating with a "spork" or fork, possibly eating small bits of styrene. After a usage time of about 20 minutes, whether incinerated, landfilled, or littered, styrene containers leave a trail of toxic particles that will last forever in the natural environment.

In 2010, after grassroots pressure from parents, the directors of New York City School Food, the largest school food service in the US, serving 860,000 meals per day, made the decision to reduce styrene foam tray usage by initiating Trayless Tuesdays, that resulted in an immediate 20% reduction of foam trays across the city without any additional  cost to the city.  Several years later, they joined forces with the 5 other largest urban school districts by forming the Urban School Food Alliance to collectively-purchase and drive down the cost of a new compostable plate. As of the fall of 2015, these 6 cities combined have completely eliminated half a billion foam trays per year from landfills., incinerators and student meals across the US.

If your school is still serving school meals on foam trays, this is a perfect time to focus on plastic-free and zero waste initiatives. It can, however, be challenging to bring busy school administrators and school food and custodial staff on board.  

Starting a student-led Cafeteria Ranger program   is a great  first step for reducing school food and packaging garbage, while gaining school-wide buy-in. Separating post-lunch recyclables and garbage with students as the leaders is an excellent way for the entire school community to visualize the amounts of resources and potential resources versus trash though a daily ritual that benefits both the school and community (watch “SORT2SAVE cheer - zero waste cafeteria is almost here”).

​This can  also create a powerful domino effect, sparking interest in plastic-free campaigns, such as plastic water-bottle bans, and plastic straw-free schools. It can even inspire student-led plastic-free advocacy and youth-made plastic free waters video campaigns that reach far beyond the school!

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Watch: "A Message from 8th grade filmmakers in Brooklyn about plastic litter - #SaveACritter"

Students from PS 34 Manhattan, speaking with Ny City Council Members at City Hall plastic bag bill rally,

Watch: "SORT2SAVE Cheer- zero waste cafeteria is almost here!" - watch on YouTube or on Vimeo here.