The Baldwin-Whitehall School District cafeterias are now using many paper alternatives to plastic to prevent waste and help the environment.
Joyce Weber, director of food services for the district, said Supt. Dr. Randal Lutz suggested the changes.
“Dr. Lutz was inspired by a news story from the New York City Schools on a promotion to help the environment by reducing single-use plastic in their school cafeteria,” Weber said in an email interview. “NYC hosts an annual Plastic-Free Lunch Day. ”
Baldwin held its plastic-free lunch day on May 24. The cafeterias featured biodegradable utensils, paper trays, paper refillable cups for condiments. The biodegradable utensils are made up of natural wood and cornstarch to help replace the plastic utensils.
“One plastic utensil takes 500 years to decompose in a landfill, but many will end up in the ocean with the billions of plastic products already polluting our oceans harming marine life and ultimately ending up in the food chain for humans,” Weber said.
Sophomore Julz Weiss said the paper alternatives are a great addition to help the environment.
“I think the paper alternatives will help benefit the school, and I think if we can encourage other schools to do the same, there will be a big impact,” she said.
Since the fully plastic-free lunch day, the high school has been offering plastic and paper just until the previously purchased inventory of plastic items is used up.
Moving forward, plastic bottles of water and some other items will still be offered in the cafeteria, but overall, the district is working towards its main goal of helping the planet.
“We will continue to reduce plastic products where we can in daily operations and research for more solutions for items that are harder for us to find a sustainable solution for such as, bottled water, Coke products, chips and other snack/beverage products that our students enjoy having available for lunch,” Weber said.
