Did you know that one Lunch-ables™ prepackaged meal can have between 10 and 19 separate pieces of trash and none of it is recyclable? Did you know that plastic water bottles will not BEGIN to decompose for 700 years? Fourth graders in the Potomac Valley Audubon Society’s year-long watershed program (sponsored by WV FLOW) have been learning about litter and how it can pollute our watersheds, but they have not stopped there. Students in all four schools (Potomack, Tomahawk, Mill Creek, and TA Lowery) have set a “zero waste lunch” day and will be encouraging other classes to try and reduce lunch trash for one day. Student ideas for reducing trash include eating all the food offered, drinking milk without a straw, using cloth napkins rather than paper ones, and filling reusable containers with drinks, snacks and lunch food rather than individually packaged foods in packed lunches.
Students have been preparing for this challenge by learning which items are recyclable, how to read the recycling code, making “trash pizzas” (creating pie charts using types of trash rather than traditional pizza toppings), and developing publicity posters and announcements. Students will be visiting younger classes and explaining the zero waste lunch to them. Tomahawk and TA Lowery have set March 18th as the waste free day; Potomack’s classes will participate over three days, and Mill Creek’s trash-out will be in April.