Brooklyn School Gets Bagasse Lunch Trays
March 25th, 2008 by Ethan
Bagasse. It is one of nature’s ultimate re-usable materials.
The pulp that remains after you process sugar cane into sugar or ethanol, bagasse can be burned to create heat or electricity, and it is often used to power the very ethanol refinery that produced it. But it can also be recycled into paper-like substance that can then be turned into a wide variety of compostable items, like lunch trays.
An initiative by NYC Council Member Bill de Blasio sought to replace styrofoam lunch trays — 850,000 of them per day, 4 million per week — that the NYC Department of Education had been buying. Looks like the new, greener trays are a winner all around, except for, perhaps, the styrofoam industry. But for them, I have just one word to say: ‘Bioplastics‘.
The sustainable bagasse trays break down or compost in 45 days. Styrofoam? 10,000 years.
Said de Blasio:
“I want to applaud the parents of my district for what they’ve done to make PS 154 an environmental leader,” said Councilmember de Blasio, a public school parent and member of the City Council’s Environmental Protection Committee.
Organizers of Parents Against Styrofoam in Schools (PASS):
“The parents, educators and students of PS 154 are very proud and excited to be the first NYC public grammar school to ban the use of styrofoam trays,” said Gina De la Chesnaye, a public school parent and organizer of Parents Against Styrofoam in Schools (P.A.S.S.). “With the help of local businesses and private donors we are choosing to serve our children their breakfast and lunch on biodegradable “sugar cane” trays. It is the first of many steps we are undertaking to ensure a greener, more ecologically sound Brooklyn and NYC.”
“I am very excited about the progress we have made in taking styrofoam out of our school,” said Laura Tichler, a public school parent and organizer of Parents Against Styrofoam in Schools (P.A.S.S.). “This is an effort that started with just Gina de la Chesnaye and I, which has now taken off and parents from all around the City are trying to find out how they too can replace styrofoam in their lunch rooms.
Also, check out a post and video from NYT City Room last June, and another from today.
Update:
Meant to include this link. People who are not entirely convinced need to check out the health and environmental impacts of styrofoam.
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10 Responses to “Brooklyn School Gets Bagasse Lunch Trays”
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March 26th, 2008 at 5:41 am
I am saddenned by the fanfare surrounding this incidious tact by Councilmember DiBlasio. It appears that he is choosing the only part of the story that fits his agenda. What is conspicuously absent from this message is the fact that the NYC Department of Sanitation sill still take these trays which are placed in …. yes, plastic liner bags …. and then sent to landfill, not the compost that DiBlasio refers to as the ‘end of the road’ for these trays. The Brooklyn School, PS 154, will also pay twice as much for the trays, or so I heard on CBS news. So my question to Councimember DiBlasio would be this. If we are not really changing the degradability of the trays, why are you applauding the school District for spending twice as much on the trays that they will use in abundance this year. Perhaps we should look for some campaign contributions from the tray supplier or the Bagasse industry, they can afford now that Brooklyn residents are paying for it.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Congratulations to Bill de Blasio and to PASS…….the greening of NYC will happen one step at a time……….
March 26th, 2008 at 9:53 am
[Ed. note]
Tom, thank you for the comment. While the cost is higher, the biodegradability of the bagasse paper trays is a significant improvement to styrofoam. Having a non-biodegradable substance like styrofoam in our landfills is a huge waste of taxpayer money and space in the landfill. NYC needs to look at long-term waste recycling in the form of anaerobic digestion of organic waste material and other advancements in gasification — both methods turn waste into energy. Something all of our cities clearly need to start doing asap. You should also check out the health and environmental impacts of styrofoam. Do we really want our kids to be eating lunch off of trays that could be leaching toxic chemicals? That alone, to me, is worth the expense of getting safer greener trays.
March 28th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
4 million trays *per week*?? That’s an awful lot of trash, even if it is (theoretically compostable) bagasse trays. Seems like, when we’re talking about such a high number of anything disposable, that reusables would be the far better option. I realize that it takes workers and resources to clean the trays after use– but in comparison to buying 4 million trays per week? Seems like reusable trays would be the clear winner.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:55 am
I am with Jen on this issue. While I applaud any initiative that reduces waste and energy consumption, I unfortunately have got considerable concerns about this project.
Based on my research, it is much, much more energy-efficient and produces less waste to use re-usable products rather than disposable or recycled materials. The energy consumption involved in producing trays is massive, from production, packaging, transportation, and disposing the trays, whether bio-degradable or not.
Why not purchase re-usable trays made from recycled materials, get dishwashers into school, and hire someone to run them?
I never once used a paper or styrofoam plate or cup or plastic cutlery for the first 23 years of my life. I attended schools and universities where food was served on china, and the silver wear was not made of plastic. I went to restaurants, cafes, attended parties, school and office functions without disposable dishes.
Life without disposables is possible, simple, cost-efficient and environmentally most friendly.
Let’s show our kids that we don’t just use something once and then throw it out. Let’s teach them about the environmental cost involved in producing and using disposables.
Claudia Friedetzky
Parents for Climate Protection
May 5th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Dear Sirs and Madams,
Our company’s name is H-X Export Co.Ltd. We have been manufacturing and exporting cocopeat, bagasse which are suitable for Farm, Greenhouse, horicultural, landscaping seed germination or orchid planting. Our goods can satisfied many customers because of high quality, attractive appearance and especially reasonable price. Pls contact me if you have any more information.
Thanks & Best Regards
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 pm
why can’t schools use reusable trays like they did when i was a student? it was less than 10 years ago. is there a landfill somewhere full of reusable trays?
May 20th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
[...] http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2008/11/20/school-district-switches-biodegrable-trays/ http://www.greenbrooklyn.com/brooklyn-school-gets-bagasse-lunch-trays/2008/03/25/ http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Schools/WasteReduce/food/ZeroWaste.htm [...]
October 13th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
I am proud that students at my school, Bard High School Early College, have raised the money to cover the extra cost of sugar cane trays. We need, however, some help in figuring out how to categorize the used ones: with the paper or plastics? Do the used trays need rinsing out? Or should the trays just be tossed with the garbage, since they will biodegrade? I’d appreciate any information from anyone who has used sugar cane lunch trays.
November 17th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
My company based in Connecticut has worked with many schools to incorporate biodegradable, bagasse trays into school cafeterias. They are reasonably priced at $34 per case of 400. Please see the link below to learn more:
http://www.mygreensupply.com/biodegradable-lunch-trays
Thank you,
Christian Coughlin, President
The Green Supply Company LLC
http://www.mygreensupply.com
1-866-592-3576