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Maryland Middle School Organizes First "Waste-Free" Lunch
Like a good camper "packs it in, and packs it out," so do students at a Maryland middle school. Last month the 8th-grade students at Kingsview Middle School in Germantown, Maryland, organized their first "Waste-Free Lunch Day." The students packed only what they could eat, reuse, recycle, or compost to have as little waste remaining as possible. The results were amazing: lunchtime waste was reduced from nine 55-gallon canisters to just three and the students recycled almost as much as they threw away.
Kingsview Middle School's waste-free lunch was a part of its second annual "It's a Green Day at Kingsview," a day based on our Make a Difference Campaign. The campaign aims to educate youth about the value of reducing, reusing, and recycling waste.
At this year's Green Day event, in addition to kicking off their waste-free lunch, Kingsview's students planted more than 150 trees, created art from recycled products, participated in a swap shop, and learned about careers in the environmental field. Approximately 435 students participated in Green Day. Through these and other activities, Kingsview students, teachers, administrators, and community volunteers learned how they could make a difference in protecting the environment.
"This year's Green Day was a tremendous success and well received by our students and community," said Dennis Queen, principal of Kingsview Middle School. "We plan on promoting waste-free lunches in future school years."
Our Make a Difference Campaign, aimed at students grades 7 -12, was launched in October 2003 at a "Youth Environmental Symposium" in San Diego, California.
For More Information:
- EPA's Pack a Waste-Free Lunch - Helps students learn how to reduce, reuse, and recycle items in their school lunches.
- Waste Free
Lunches
- Web site providing steps for developing a program, success
stories, research, and links. - EPA's Environmental Careers - Provides information about careers in solid and hazardous waste management.