To: Dr. Joshua Starr, Superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools
Stop Wasteful Styrofoam Trays in Our School
We, the undersigned, support the Young Activist Club of Piney Branch Elementary School (Takoma Park, MD) and their project to pilot reusable instead of styrofoam lunch trays. Styrofoam is a plastic made from styrene, a known neurotoxicant and reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. Once used, it is burned in the county incinerator, polluting the air. The Young Activist Club has raised the money to lease a dishwasher, buy washable trays and pay for labor costs. I urge you to support this project and the students' initiative in identifying a problem and seeking a solution, particularly a solution with the potential to save public schools money.
Why is this important?
Montgomery County Public Schools (MD) use disposable styrofoam lunch trays. The Young Activist Club has researched and identified problems with styrofoam (resin #6, polystyrene), including that it is made from styrene, a carcinogen that can leach into food. The Club has raised more than $10,000 to pilot a tray washing project in one local county school, Piney Branch Elementary School. The pilot will assess whether the extra labor and water costs of washing trays can be offset by the costs of perpetually buying single-use disposable trays. But the local School Board and Superintendent have rejected the students' idea. Please help us convince the Superintendent to support this student-led initiative, which has the potential to save the public school district money at a time when it most needs it.