Kids are going green, and not just at home. A cadre of student activists at Piney Branch elementary school in Takoma Park, MD, are agitating to replace the throw-away polystyrene lunch trays used in their public school cafeteria with reusable, washable ones. They’ve raised over $10,000 towards the purchase of a dishwasher to clean the trays. Officials who oversee the school in Montgomery County, MD have thus far refused to allow the kids to even test out a reusable trays program, saying it is too expensive. But the kids are fighting on.
Full disclosure: Both my kids attended Piney Branch, which is located near the Washington, D.C. border about three blocks from my house, and educates students in the third, fourth and fifth grades. But my son and daughter left long before more environmentally aware kids formed “The Young Activists Club” and launched their inspiring reusable tray campaign.
Why Reusable School Lunch Trays?
The kids are concerned because the polystyrene in the trays is a “known neurotoxin and suspected human carcinogen,” they say on their website.
“But there’s more,” they say. “It turns out polystyrene has a high carbon footprint as it’s made from fossil fuels. In addition, unlike other types of plastics such as beverage bottles (PET, #1) and milk jugs (HDPE, #2), its recycling level is virtually zero. It is not biodegradable, either. This means polystyrene that is littered will end up eventually in our watersheds and the world’s oceans where it can have devastating impacts on water life.
The kids plan to appeal the County’s decision and continue to agitate for reusable or more environmentally friendly lunch trays. Meanwhile, they’ve produced a YouTube video in which they perform the song they’ve written to explain their campaign. It’s called, “Goodnight, Styrene,” which they sing to the tune of “Goodnight, Irene.” Take a look.
12 thoughts on “Students Start Food Fight For Reusable School Lunch Trays.”
Thanks, Irene. You’re exactly right.
Kuddo’s to the kids, I hope they one day can accomplish great things to save our planet and our bodies that have for so long been abused. But my suggestion is this, our school lunches in public school are garbage! We as parents have a choice, don’t let our children buy or eat them-if we make their lunches at home we have the control as to the chemicals they are exposed to and the quality of their food. My daughter goes to a montessori school and there is no hot lunch program, that means every child must bring there lunch from home. If we as parents stop buying the hot lunch at the public schools, than the cost to keep the program won’t be there and as with all budget cuts I feel hot lunch should be cut before gym,art,music and things that actually benefit our kids, rather than harm them! Think about it parents-you have a choice!
Great post-At least school kids are starting to understand -hope they stop feeding them junk in school-A healthy meal for goodness sake!
It sounds like this makes sense for a multitude of reasons. Once you have paid for the one time expense of the reusable trays they will pay for themselves many times over. Come on adults, step up and be logical! This is a no-brainer.
What a great idea! I am going to see how this fits in in our school system. I have to be honest-i have no idea what type of trays they are currently using. Certainly worth looking into!
We live in Montgomery Co. and our school uses the same hideous trays. I am so inspired by Piney Branch! I showed my 5th grader their video and he is anxious to bring it up to the other members of the school’s green team. Thank you for sharing this!
Great comments. Thanks, everyone! It’s inspiring to see young people getting behind sustainability – but then, if you’re their role models, we shouldn’t be surprised.
Love to hear an update on this. Recycling rates are mentioned – but don’t be fooled. Americans are horrible at all types of recycling. Plastic bottles are recycled at a rate of 22% – meaning 78% is disposed of (140 million bottles a day). Kids are likely the solution. My company provides customized stainless steel bottles for school fundraising efforts – Back2Tap.com. Check us out.
Has anyone come across a reusable lunch tray that families can purchase and then their child can bring the tray into school and use that for buying school lunch?? Obviously some logistical tricky points… transporting the dirty tray & utensils home in a mess free way and how the tray is used efficiently in the lunch buying process without backing up the lunch line.
I’ve not seen any reports of this, but that doesn’t mean no one’s doing it. But maybe there could be one that folds in the middle and comes in a little sack that can be easily packed, unpacked and cleaned. Interesting idea!
Hello Diane,
I am a Geography Resource and Environmental Studies major at Texas State University and I am currently working on a project for my Solid Waste Planning and Management course. The project is a proposal to somehow locally reduce waste entering the landfill that can actually be implemented by the recipient. I am extremely interested in reusable versus disposable ware in schools as my proposal topic. Is there any chance you could provide me with some good sources or information of your own, which I could use in combination with the miniscule information I have found about my local school districts? I am struggling to find information about how much money is spent per year on disposable trays by schools as well as information about waste hauling costs. My proposal is essentially to revert back to reusable trays as most schools in my district have used styrofoam for some time. This would ultimately save money and energy according to the studies I have read while at the same time providing an opportunity for environmental education and outreach. Furthermore, I assume the reason for using disposable trays stems from sanitation concerns and convenience, although neither are good excuses to harm the environment. Perhaps you could shed some light, why do schools choose disposable trays? Thank you for your time, your input would be greatly appreciated!
Hi, I don’t have any current research that would help you. You can do what I did, and google “What schools are using reusable lunch trays?” or how to reduce throwaway lunch trays, or how to switch to reusable lunch trays. I just don’t have any current info. Sorry. Let me know what you find.
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