Saving the Planet One Lunch Tray at a Time

Sodexo partners with students to find sustainable solutions

Students in Springfield, MA, learned it’s easy being green — but first, they had to go through the trash. 

Ninth graders at Springfield Renaissance School discussed recycling in their science class and then turned the lens on their own school. After digging through the trash, the students learned that the school’s recycling efforts were nonexistent, because if 10% of anything recyclable was contaminated by nonrecyclable materials, it could not be recycled. Furthermore, the students found the prevalent use of plastic trays, which are not biodegradable.

So the students went to work, writing letters to key decision makers, including Andrew Stratton, Sodexo’s general manager for the school’s dining service.

“We used 281 Styrofoam trays every single day,” says student Ama Sarpong. “These people saw how passionate we were about this issue and helped to make a change.”

Stratton told Western Mass News he's impressed with the students’ initiative in raising their voices for a cause that was important to them and the planet. “I grew up in Springfield, so seeing the schools that I've been in and learned [at], they're doing great things that I wish I had the ability to do when I was their age,” he told the news channel.

“They found that having a passion for something had a real-world effect, a lesson that was as valuable as anything they learned in the classroom.”

The students, administrators and Sodexo went to work selecting alternative trays, showing the students the actual cost to make changes, and discussing the pros and cons of each possibility. One option was a metal tray, but that choice would have required installing dishwashers at school. Another option was too biodegradable and did not hold up to liquids. The final tray that was selected was just slightly higher in cost than the Styrofoam trays but still within the school’s budget. It was a sustainable option that met the criteria for biodegradability and compostability.

In the end, the students involved in the project were pleased that within a year’s time, they were able to have an impact on their school’s sustainability efforts. Springfield Public Schools and Sodexo plan on spreading these trays across the district, and they hope to take this idea to other schools nationwide. Sodexo is committed to creating a better, more sustainable future for all and fostering a culture of environmental responsibility, and it all begins in our schools, where students are inspired to take part in caring for our planet. 

To learn more about Sodexo’s sustainability commitments, check out A Better Tomorrow: 2023 Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Report.