Microplastic Madness
An award-winning documentary that's inspiring a global youth movement
All public schools in New York City and 18 other large US school districts have eliminated 1/2 a BILLION polluting (styro)foam trays per year from landfills, incinerators, and student meals. If your school district is still using plastic foam trays, Use this step-by-step student guide to create your own Styrofoam Out of Schools advocacy campaign.
Getting Styrofoam Out of Schools – FAQ’s ->
The chemical styrene, a major component of polystyrene trays and food containers, has been categorized as a “reasonably anticipated to be carcinogen” by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Styrene is toxic and polluting from the start of manufacturing and forever thereafter.
NYC schools used to throw away 850,000 styrofoam trays per day. Stacked up, that’s 8.5 times higher than the Empire State Building!
The unprecedented multi-city contract for new school compostable plates eliminates over 1/2 a BILLION toxic and polluting styrene foam plates annually from over 4,000 schools. This collective purchasing agreement has created a domino effect of zero waste progress nationwide!
“DOE is excited to be part of the City’s new environmentally conscious polystyrene policy,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “We are replacing polystyrene trays with compostable plates for the 2015 – 16 school year to meet this ban.”
It started with a group of public school parents and took 6 years of perseverance and creativity!
Cafeteria Culture was founded as Styrofoam Out of Schools (SOSnyc) in 2009 with the goal to eliminate the 850,000 styrene foam trays used per day in NYC schools.
We built an unlikely and trusting partnership with NYC School Food and Parsons. Remarkably, within just one year, our grassroots org catalyzed TRAYLESS TUESDAYS citywide. To date, this initiative alone has already eliminated over 100 MILLION styrene foam trays used per day in NYC schools.
We created giant NO-STYRO data PUPPETS, each made of 500 used and washed lunch trays. We took the puppets all over NYC and to City Hall. People laughed first, then heard our story of toxic and polluting styrene foam and were inspired to take action!
We built cross-sector coalitions with communities, schools, manufacturers, government, and other NGO’s, sharing product, system, and education ideas.
We introduced new products and systems to government agency directors, including potato trays, in vessel composting machines, and Effective Microorganism composting.
We piloted cutting-edge K-8 curriculum to support zero waste cafeterias.
We piloted the Cafeteria Ranger program, training students as young as Pre-K, to oversee all recycling and composting in their school cafeteria and classroom.
We led MAKE CHANGE MESSAGING workshops, teaching students to advocate for their own issues, including ridding the city of styrene foam!
We led prototyping workshops, giving students, the USERS of school lunch trays, the opportunity to design, construct and test out their own designs!
We presented unknown issues around school cafeteria garbage and culture to parents, teachers, School Food Directors, elected officials, and solid waste experts!
We regularly shared vital on-the-ground information with elected officials and government agency directors.
We did not give up!
We realized that banning plastic foam in a city as large as NYC was a complex problem, requiring creativity strategies
in order to be achieved.
We helped initiate a public-private partnership between parents and a private trash hauler that led to the city’s first school organics pilot!
We replied to hundreds of emails and calls from students, teachers, parents, school administrators, and government offices in NYC and ALL ACROSS THE US!
We built our own website, designed original graphics and signage, made our own video shorts, and shared our work and our knowledge with everyone looking to eliminate styrene foam in their community.
WE DID ALL OF THIS ON A SHOE-STRING BUDGET, and with the help of many wonderful volunteers and thousands of volunteer hours!
We are ready for the next great challenge. Help us to eliminate plastics styrofom and all other single-use plastics form ALL public schools! Help us to achieve zero waste school cafeterias across the US!
Please support our work by making a tax deductible donation.
