CMSD NEWS BUREAU
04/22/24
April 22 marks the 54th annual celebration of Earth Day. This year's focus is on the use of plastic items and the long-term harmful effects caused to the planet by plastic waste.
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) staff and students are doing their part to help reduce their daily use of plasticware and raise environmental awareness through recycling efforts.
The District serves more than 34,000 students during breakfast and lunch each day. That means a lot of plastic waste is generated. Robert Gorman, Executive Director of Food and Child Nutrition Services, has embraced the challenge of making sure students are adequately fed while keeping one eye on the health of the planet. To that end, the nutrition department has eliminated the use of plastic straws by 95%. Now, only special education students and pre-kindergarteners use them.
“By nearly eliminating straws, and reducing the department’s overall plastic waste, it has saved the department money. This allows us to redirect our resources,” says Gorman.
Identifying the many ways plastics are used each school day, the CMSD nutritional team continues to expand student access to fresh salad bars, eliminating the need for plastic-wrapped fruits and cups. By reducing prepackaged sporks, students can now select individual forks and paper bowl boats as viable options, replacing individually pre-packed serving wear.
The second and third-grade students of Ms. Casey Hatcher’s MD autism class are recognized as the recycling ambassadors of Mary McLeod Bethune. They encourage the student body to participate in their recycling efforts.
“We started with paper recycling approximately seven years ago,” says Ms. Hatcher. “We worked with DonorsChoose and Royal Oaks Recycling and now, each classroom in the building has two recycling bins, one for paper and another for plastics.”
CMSD staff and students are gaining momentum in their efforts to preserve the planet by expanding recycling efforts and reducing the use of plastic in upcoming school years. The goal is to serve lunch in at least ten schools that will use ZERO single-use plastic items on Earth Day 2025.
