Plastic Free Lunch Day

A: Show the “Get Ready” video and use our  “Why Plastic Free Lunch Day? The Problem with Plastic” overview slides with discussion prompts. Get your students excited to be a part of a plastic free action day! 

Slide Deck in Spanish: Traducido 1. ¿Por qué Día de Almuerzo sin Plástico? – El Problema con el Plástico

B:  Show our award winning movie,
Microplastic Madness
Free for all K-12 schools Oct-Nov 2023 ->
​You will receive the link automatically after completing this short form.
Spanish-Subtitled Version available
Always free for Title 1 or under-resourced schools

Plastic threatens health & environment. And many plastics are unnecessary. That means we don’t have to use them! Screen our award-winning student-led movie Microplastic Madness  in your school or classroom. 
Watch the movie trailer here ->

Use our free Movie Companion Guide & Discussion Questions.​

​​​Screen the movie (76 minutes) with your class, Green Team, club or entire school to educate and inspire action!Choose to watch in 2, 3, or 5 parts, or show the entire movie at once.

Meet with your principal and school food manager to find out if your school is participating on Plastic Free Lunch Day. If not, request a Plastic Free Lunch Day or a plastic free action day at your school. 

Here are some ideas: (scroll down to “Easy Plastic Free Actions” a complete list)

• Plastic Free Lunch Day:  On one day, eliminate all lunchtime single-use plastics
• Plastic Free ____ Day – Simplify the day with a focus on reducing just one kind of single-use plastic packaging, such as a:
     — straws (students teach students:  do we need them?)
     — condiment packets (dispense from squeeze bottles or spoon/ladle onto student plates)
     — utensils (bring utensils from home or choose a hand-held food menu)
     — chip bags (serve by “bulk” onto student plates)
     — water cups (bring water bottles from home/ hold a fundraiser to purchase)
• ​Lead a “Skip The Stuff” or “Take Only What You Need” day – On one day, dispense utensils, napkins, and other single-use items by request only instead of automatically serving with each meal (printable posters below).
• Lead a plastic free campaign to inform your school community about the plastic pollution problem and to persuade your community to reduce single-use plastics.​

1. Encourage plastic-free home lunch and store bought lunch
2. Make signs 
3. Promote reusables with a “Bring Your Own” campaign for water bottles, utensils, napkins, and more​ 

• Meet with your school food manager to discuss reducing single-use plastics on one Plastic Free Lunch Day and then every day. Suggestions can include:

        – Hand out “Utensils by request only” every day
        – Provide dressings & condiments in bulk (such as refillable pump jars) rather that in individual packages 
        – Wrap sandwiches in bulk rather that individually every day
        – Make all pizza menus days plastic-free
        – Make all “hand-held” menu days (i.e. burger, taco, burrito, egg roll) plastic free days too!
       –  Offer more menu items that do not require utensils (burrito, burger, tacos, oranges, bananas)

Create signs  (or print out the signs in Resources” below) and post them  around the school and in the cafeteria.

Ask for a slot during Morning Announcements to explain the idea & plan. 

Arrange for students to visit all classrooms to explain the idea & plan to other students.

Present at a PTA meeting.  Ask parents to support school (not home) lunches on the action day.

Request that Plastic Free Lunch Day be added to the school calendar.

Set up an info-table in the cafeteria.

Set up a sorting station (or improve the ones that already exist) and monitor the stations to increase awareness (use our SORT2save/Cafeteria Ranger resources for setting up sorting stations with student monitors).

Take Photos (this is easy!)

• Before and After Plastic Free Lunch Day, take photos of your plastic waste and SHARE to inspire others. 
• Before and After any plastic reduction action, take photos of your plastic waste or recycling or compost (or all of them) and SHARE to inspire others.

**PHOTO HOW-TO: Take the photos at the end of a lunch period or all lunch periods.  Position the camera above each cafeteria trash, recycling, and compost bin so all items can be clearly seen. (If your school does not have Organics Collection, we still want to see the contents of all the other bins).
(“After” means the day-of PLASTIC FREE LUNCH or another plastic reduction day, at the end of the lunch period)

Publicize your success with your before and after data & photos.
Or
Conduct a CAFETERIA PLASTIC SURVEY 
Students collect & count single-use plastic in their cafeteria
Instructions for Lunch or Breakfast Survey

The world is awash in toxic and polluting single-use plastics made from hazardous chemicals that are contaminating our ecosystems, our communities and our bodies. The US creates more plastic waste than any other nation and it never goes away. It degrades into tiny microplastics and then nanoplastics. Scientists have found microplastics in the deepest parts of the ocean, and in our soil, food, water and air, and in our bodies.

380 million metric tons of plastic are produced each year.

The US plastic recycling rate has dropped below 6%!

US Schools serve 7.35 billion meals annually.  Those meals are packed with non-biodegradable  Single-use plastics (SUPs) that make a significant contribution to the US plastic waste stream and the staggering global plastic pollution problem.  Most of those SUPs end up in a landfill or environment.

Plastic Free Lunch Day provides students an opportunity to learn about plastic pollution and take meaningful plastic-reduction action.  One plastic free day leads to another and creates a vision and actionable ideas to move forward equitably and sustainably.

• Making & disposing of plastic is fueling the extreme weather events.
• Plastics are made from fossil fuels.
• Plastics are the 5th largest contributor of harmful gas emissions.
• Less than 6% of plastic is recycled in the US.
• We are all eating and breathing microplastics.
• Plastic kills 100,000 marine animals every year.
• The US creates more plastic waste than any other nation.
• Plastic never goes away.  It degrades into tiny microplastics.
• Scientists have found micro- and nanoplastics in the deepest parts of the ocean, and in our soil, food, water and air.
• Recent studies have also found micro- and nanoplastics in our bodies: our gut, our tissues, our poop, our blood, the deepest parts of our lungs, our blood, our brain.

Each year, we produce over 350 million metric tons of plastic; more than 40% of this is single-use plastic–plastic packaging and foodware that is used for less than 20 minutes.  Because plastic is not recyclable, most discarded plastic is sent to landfills or “leaks” into the natural environment. 

Plastic does not biodegrade. Instead it breaks or fragments into small particles called microplastics and then into smaller particles called nanoplastics.  Because plastic is made from fossil fuels and thousands of persistent toxic chemicals, they transfer thousands of migrating chemicals into our food during use. After disposal and fragmentation, plastic particles carry and distribute these toxic chemicals to every inch of the globe. 

​Scientists have found micro and nanoplastics in our digestive tract, deep in our lung tissue, in the placenta, and circulating in our blood. Nanoplastics deliver thousands of toxic chemicals directly to the organs, tissues, and cells in our bodies. We now face the public health crisis of our time. 

School cafeterias serve over 40 million meals a day and make a large contribution to the plastic waste stream.  School cafeterias are a great place to begin reducing single-use plastics, while also protecting the health of our students–society’s most vulnerable members. Plastic Free Lunch Day is a first step that results in useful photos and data but, most importantly, it shows everyone that food-dispensing and eating does not require plastic! 

Simplify the day with a focus on reducing just one kind of single-use plastic packaging, such as a:

• NO PLASTIC STRAW DAY  (more ideas for reducing plastic straws ->)
• NO CONDIMENT PACKET DAY – ask your school food manager if they can serve condiments in refillable containers or dispensers.

We suggest always starting with a before survey (or audit). 

Example: the steps for a “NO PLASTIC STRAW DAY”:

1. Set out a box and sign  to collect all the plastic straws used ruing one lunch period or during all school lunch periods.
2. Count the straws and photograph all the straws (lay them out on a dark background).
3.  Publicize the number of straws collected on that one day and the date of your NO PLASTIC STRAW DAY” 
4. On the day of the initiative, once again collect any plastic straws and photograph
5. Make posters with the ‘before” and “after” data and photos 
6.  Interview students and staff to find out what others suggest to do next to reduce single-use plastics and other packaging.

– BRING YOUR OWN FORK (and napkin) DAY
– BRING YOUR CUP or REUSABLE BOTTLE DAY

From the movie, “Microplastic Madness”

• Make creative signage to encourage plastic waste reduction or use the flyer provided (above) and place near dispensers.
• Ask teachers to remind students just before lunch.
• Make announcements!
• Lead a before count of plastic utensils thrown away on a single day, start your campaign, then do an after count. Compare and publicize results.

Ask your food service manager to:

• Offer plastic utensils by request only on days when pizza, burritos, and other hand-held foods are served. Salad bars can be stocked with cut vegetables.
• Serve all condiments and sauces in reusable dispensers or bottles.
• If your meals come packaged with the utensils, ask to try a new method of offering utensils.
• If your utensils and napkins come together in plastic wrap, ask for individual utensils and napkins!

Thank your kitchen and custodial staff and school cafeteria aides!

• Hang up special “thank you’ posters in the cafeteria with staff names.
• Encourage students to say “please” and “thank you” in the food line.
• Make a special “thank you” announcement at the end of the lunch period and invite kitchen and custodial staff to join you!
• Thank kitchen and custodial staff during school assemblies and recognize the work they do for the school community.

Showing gratitude supports positive change-making and builds community!  
For inspiration, show our video, “School  Lunch in Japan- it’s not just about eating” (34 million views on YouTube!)

• ​Hold a fundraiser to buy reusable bottles or utensils for all students.
• Create an education campaign to promote reduction of single-use plastics and reusables for home and store bought lunches.
• Create an education campaign focused on reducing a specific single-use plastic item and offer solutions.
• Create a utensil/packet/straw “by request only” action;  meet with your principal and school food manager to ask that these plastic items not be given out automatically. Create signs and an information campaign.  (see signs below in “Resource” section or make your own and share with us)
• Conduct a survey of plastic waste or street/beach litter at  school/work/community to inform & persuade. (use our “DIY: DATA +ACTION litter clean up” guide!)
• Create banners, posters or flyers about single use plastics to inform students, school staff and community to #uselessplastic.
• Create an art installation or giant puppets using single use plastics as 3 dimensional data to inform & persuade.
• Perform a theater piece, poetry, or music (on the streets or indoors) to engage new audiences on the plastic pollution issues and reduction.
• Learn about local/state plastic-reduction bills/proposals and ask to meet with your local and state legislators to inform & persuade. Sharing your data helps! (find some NY and US bills ->)
• Start planning now for a spring 2023 Plastic Free Lunch Day!
• Lead  a “Write a Letter to the Editor” campaign or teach a lesson with our guidelines.
• Write a letter to your principal, school food manager, and school board to request future Plastic Free Lunch Days as regular weekly or monthly menu days! (see our Sample Letter to the  Principal ->)
• Ask to present to PTA and school board,