This past Wednesday, students who purchased lunch may have noticed a change in the way they received their meals. Kayla Soren (10, HSU) recently launched an endeavor called Wasteless Wednesdays to replace the styrofoam trays in the cafeteria with paper ones.

“I am a Girl Scout, and I began this project as part of my Gold Award,” Kayla said. “I don’t like how we use styrofoam in the cafeteria because it’s bad for the environment and they don’t decompose. Recyclable paper plates are a good alternative.”

Currently, this option is only available on pizza day, because other lunch items are too heavy to fit in the paper trays. Students have the choice to opt out; however, Kayla has hung several signs encouraging them to choose the more environmentally-friendly option.

The debut of Wasteless Wednesdays went relatively successfully, although not without a few problems. “Even though we had more recycling, our signs fell down, so a lot of students threw their regular trash into the recycling bin,” said Ms. Leanne Buehner, Nutritional Manager. “I think that more students will opt for the paper trays as time goes on.”

While a few students were startled by the change, most did not find it very inconvenient. “Honestly, I didn’t take much notice,” said Sam Naser (10, MST). “I don’t really consciously think about helping the environment, but these plates weren’t really any worse.”