Photograph by Leigh Ann Maze

Making an environmental fashion statement are Argonaut second-graders (from left) Kaelah Squires, Aharon Fleury and Grant Thomas.




'Trashy' is all the rage for 3000, say second-graders

By Leigh Ann Maze

The 100 second-grade students at Argonaut School in Saratoga wore garbage to school on Jan. 14 as part of a spirit day with the theme, "Dress Like Students of the Year 3000."

The students showed support for recycling with creative hats and glasses made from Styrofoam school-lunch trays, an assortment of non-recyclable garbage and recyclable items that are often thrown in the trash.

The Argonaut second-graders aren't stopping at environmental fashion statements; they are taking action under the motto, "Let's Not Trash Our Future." When Argonaut School switched waste-disposal companies this fall, the 200 to 300 disposable Styrofoam trays used daily to serve lunch in the cafeteria could no longer be recycled. (Most waste-disposal companies will no longer recycle Styrofoam.) After hearing this news, the students and their five second-grade teachers began working to make the school-lunch program more environmentally friendly.

An environmental report released in November showing that more people in Santa Clara County are making more trash further spurred their efforts. The concerned teachers and students have been in contact with Saratogan Peter Melhus, who helped write the environmental report, and others in the community who can help them find a solution.

The dilemma of finding a more environmentally friendly lunch tray has lent itself well to hands-on learning to complement the school's environmental curriculum. Students conducted a science project to determine what materials, including Styrofoam, biodegrade the fastest. Students wrote letters to Saratoga Union School District Superintendent Mary Gardner, who supports their efforts, and to Microsoft mogul Bill Gates, which was a second-grade student's ingenious idea.

"It's exciting to see them empowered to do this, and I totally support them," said Argonaut School Principal Sue Brooks.

Among the options, teachers and students are considering the installation of a commercial dishwasher that can wash reusable lunch trays. Because a new multi-purpose building and kitchen will be constructed in the fall as part of the Measure D funded renovations, there is an opportunity to make space in the kitchen design for a $12,000 dishwasher. Time is limited, however, because architects are working on completing the new kitchen's blueprints.

An old dishwasher sits in the current kitchen, a testament to when the school used to wash and reuse trays, a practice that stopped 15 to 20 years ago over concerns that chemicals used in the washing process were polluting the water. The school has been using throwaway cardboard and Styrofoam trays ever since.

Child Nutrition Supervisor Carol Berger is not sure reverting to the old-fashioned method is best. "I want to do whatever is best for the environment, but we have to look at what is feasible in terms of labor and space," Berger said.

Berger is looking into using disposable cardboard trays and buying a machine that will shred and compact the waste.

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