Zadie Moyer | October 4, 2024
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Re: Vermicomposting at Metro: An Interview with Alison Vaugan
“The waste created from our school lunches add up. SLPS does not use compostable or reusable cutlery. The daily waste from the around 28,000 SLPS students per day from styrofoam lunch trays and plastic cutlery is another issue that Eco-ACT students aim to challenge through education around recycling”.
Letter to the Editor: Is SLPS Poisoning Students?
With respect to this interview, which is an amazing step towards eco-friendly practices for Metro, addressing food waste should not be students only prerogative. Educating students does not solve the fact that these items SLPS offers students during lunch, which are not only non-biodegradable and last up to thousands of years to break down, but also include chemicals that are effectively poisoning its students.
An average SLPS Lunch including the styrofoam tray.
Doctors at UCLA advise against eating hot food and beverages from styrofoam, also known as polystyrene, dishes. Heating of styrofoam can cause chemicals to leach from the foam and into the food. And while this is alright for your body every once and a while, repeated exposure, like students eating off of polystyrene plates every weekday, from Pre-K to 12th grade, is hazardous to health and has been linked to blood cancers.
Additionally, it's important to consider the broader environmental implications. Styrofoam makes up to 30% of landfill waste, and contributes significantly to plastic pollution. It also breaks down into microplastics, which can contaminate soil and waterways, leading to long-term ecological damage and harming wildlife.
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