The Charger, February 2017
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By Sam Katz
As the topic of sustainability grows more pressing in our community, what is Providence Day doing to fight the issue of waste?
In a society where daily life revolves around eating, waste is inevitable. Food is key to survival, and with it comes trash and excess. Each year, nearly forty percent of all purchased food is thrown out. The cost of wasted food amounts to nearly one trillion dollars annually. At Providence Day School, where students have the opportunity to eat two meals a day- what is being done to stop the issue that is plaguing high schools all over the world: over producing waste?
If one were to ask any students at Providence Day School what their favorite part of the day is, the answer is bound to be short and sweet- lunch. As the clock hits 12:40, the sound of stampeding footsteps echoes across campus. The most popular class has begun.
The upper school student body holds nearly 600 students, all of whom need to eat
The school dining hall, equipped with a professional cooking staff and endless options of food, causes “Flik fever” to run rampant across campus. Students swarm the cafeteria hoping to beat the long lines and get the best food. The upper school student body holds nearly 600 students, all of whom need to eat.
Each day in the cafeteria, the six trash cans scattered around the dining hall are filled to the brim
Each day in the cafeteria, the six trash cans scattered around the dining hall are filled to the brim. Providence Day School prides itself on being a sustainable school, but is it doing all that it can to promote sustainability? As lunch comes to an end, students flock to the trash bins, carelessly throwing away recyclable plastics, and food scraps. The options given for the disposal of food are straightforward. If you have an empty bottle you can recycle it; however, everything else goes into the trash. In order to cut down on waste and move towards being more sustainable, Providence Day needs to offer more options regarding disposal of waste.
College and high school campuses all around the country are taking the initiative to improve their means of waste disposal, and Providence Day needs to as well. Other schools are introducing new trash systems that make it easier for students to decide where to dispose of their waste. Rather than a straightforward trash or recycle choice, the innovative waste stations give step-by- step directions as to what to do with waste. The stations contain more options and ways to dispose of your food: the array of choices include compost, biodegradable food scraps, plastics, and lastly, trash. By implementing these measures into the school community, Providence Day would be able to cut down on waste, potentially introduce a compost garden, increase the amounts of recycled plastics, and overall reduce trash..
The way that food is presented and sold throughout the dining hall promotes waste
Within the Providence Day Cafeteria, the way that food is presented and sold throughout the dining hall promotes waste. The arrangement gives students very little leeway to have the ability to recycle and create a sustainable environment. Everywhere you look inside the dining hall, you see plastics and non-renewable packaging. Each day, upwards of 100 packs of cookies are sold, and each pack is enclosed by a plastic wrapping. Everything is wrapped in plastic. One of the most commonly purchased items on campus are Dasani Water Bottles. Students have the option to get a reusable dishwasher friendly cup, but it is passed up each day for a Dasani Bottle. These bottles never make it through the day, and usually end up in the trash can. The cafeteria needs to take initiative and begin to try and reduce the waste being given to students and faculty throughout the day.
Since the installment of ONE water bottle refiller on campus, over 55,000 water bottles have been saved.
There are a few simple initiatives that can be taken to lower the amount of waste produced each day. First, Flik and the school can remove water bottles from the cafeteria. While the argument can, and will be made that this is preventing students from being able to drink water, it will incline more students to bring reusable water bottles to school, such as Nalgenes. With stations all over campus to re-fill water bottles, the opportunity to drink is endless. Since the installment of ONE water bottle refiller on campus, over 55,000 water bottles have been saved. To think that one change, from plastic Dasani water bottles to reusable Nalgenes can save nearly 100,000 water bottles school wide over two years is incredible. By installing more water bottle fillers around campus, the results of saved bottles will be astounding. A simple change like this to the school's daily habits, increases sustainability and care for the world.
preventing students from being able to drink water, it will incline more students to bring reusable water bottles to school, such as Nalgenes. With stations all over campus to re-fill water bottles, the opportunity to drink is endless. Since the installment of ONE water bottle refiller on campus, over 55,000 water bottles have been saved. To think that one change, from plastic Dasani water bottles to reusable Nalgenes can save nearly 100,000 water bottles school wide over two years is incredible. A simple change like this to the school's daily habits, increases sustainability and care for the world.
Prior to January of 2017, A second issue that plagued the dining hall was reusable silver ware. One of the hardest things to find in all of the cafeteria were the metal forks, knives, and spoons. thing that you see when coming out of the food area are the plastic utensils. No high school student is going to put in the time to go and look for metal silverware, so rather they take the first thing in sight- the plastics.
No high school student was going to put in the time to go and look for metal silverware, so rather they took the first thing in sight, the plastic silverware. Since then, Flik has removed plastic utensils for general use, and made it much easier to get the metal ones.
Nearly 7,000 pieces of plastic can be saved from the trash each week.
Plastic Silverware in the Providence Day cafeteria. Photo courtesy of Sam Katz
When you throw away plastics they do not go anywhere, rather they sit in a landfill for hundreds of years, some types slowly decomposing bit by bit, until after a tremendously long time they are dissolved, while others remain forever. Each day, hundreds of pieces of plastic silverware were thrown away. Students grabbed on average two pieces of silverware each day, which amounted to nearly 1,200 pieces of cutlery thrown away each day. Since the location of the metal silverware has been moved to be more convenient for the students, and the plastic silverware was taken out of the dining hall, nearly 7,000 pieces of plastic have been saved from the trash each week. This is a simple solution that was added to the school dining hall.
When it comes to a sustainable school, Providence Day is heading in the right direction. With many things that can be changed, it is just about taking the first step. The initiatives that have been taken throughout the school are yielding amazing results. With the introduction of the Elkay EZH20 Water Bottle fillers around campus, Providence Day is working to eliminate water bottle waste. By relocating the metal silverware, and getting rid of plastic silverware all together- the amount of plastics that are thrown away each day and week will be reduced tremendously. Lastly, with the introduction of new waste deposit stations in the cafeteria will give students an easier map as to where they should throw their food away, and what can really be saved.
throughout the school are yielding amazing results. With the introduction of the Elkay EZH20 Water Bottle fillers around campus, Providence Day is working to eliminate water bottle waste. By relocating the metal silverware, and getting rid of plastic silverware all together- the amount of plastics that have been saved each day and week has been increased tremendously. Lastly, with the introduction of new waste deposit stations in the cafeteria, students will get an easy map as to where they should throw their food away, and shed light on the amount of waste that really can be saved.
Innovative waste disposal sytems at colleges and highschools. Photo courtesy of Kapiwa Kajengo.
A Sustainable Solution
Photo courtesy of Kyle Lebouf