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Last year, I visited my daughter at a Gwinnett County Elementary school and was shocked to discover that our schools use styrofoam trays! They throw away thousands of these toxic trays everyday in our schools. Even if your child is not currently or won't ever be in the Gwinnett County public school system, your tax dollars may be going to support this wasteful and harmful practice.
We can do something about this. In the past, Gwinnett has tried to recycle these trays, and it didn't work out. This leads me to believe they are open to the idea of change- let's just make sure they know we are expecting it!
Please sign: http://www.change.org/petitions/school-board-reduce-dependence-on-styrofoam-lunch-trays-starting-with-trayless-tuesdays
It'll just take a minute!
Yes, it will ask for basic location info, which is important because we want as many Gwinnett signers as possible. Change.org will protect your privacy - check out their policy.
Thank you & please SPREAD THE WORD. Forward this e-mail to your Gwinnett friends.
I really appreciate your support.
M.K. Osborne
6:22 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Roxanne , What solution do you recommend ?
Roxanne
7:01 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Our first step could be just one day a week without the styrofoam trays- that would let us explore the expense & benefits of other options-- like compostable trays, paper boats, or even job-creating options like returning to trays that are washed everyday.
M.K. Osborne
9:01 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Personally i would stay with Styrofoam as long as a recycling system is in place , some schools still do this . I feel this is cost effective compared to additional labor and the waste and cost of water and energy used in the process to clean and sanitize .I would though opt for the compostable trays along with food waste pick up by companies such as Greenco Environmental to handle both processes therefore reducing additional waste and the reduction of compactor pick up charges .No additional or transfer of labor costs .
Roxanne
1:53 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Good thoughts, M. K. There are some concerns about styrofoam having toxins in it that are released when kids scrape the forks on them... but these types of dangers seem to lurk everywhere in our manufactured environments. I just hope for critical consideration of the issues at hand- waste and health concerns. And I'm looking forward to hearing more from the board about their research on best options. As I say, they tried to recycle, but it didn't work out.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/gwinnetts-lunch-tray-recycling-program-nationally-/nD98b/
http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/article/20110511/NEWS03/305119999/mass-firm-files-suit-over-failure-of-ps-tray-recycling
M.K. Osborne
5:46 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Its tough , you almost have to build your sustainable network to get it accomplished .Also keep in mind a school system the size of Gwinnett cant stop on a dime if one of the cards fall in the network .I can assure you that they are constantly pursuing avenues to become a greener School system while keeping cost's in check.