Bay Middle School forms new Green Team Committee

Bay Middle School’s PTA has a new Green Team Committee. The new committee has the support of Bay Village Superintendent Jodie Hausmann, Bay Middle School Principal Sean McAndrews, and Bay Middle School PTA President Chrissy Morscher. 

The Committee is proud to report many positive changes already this school year: The Green Team Committee purchased permanent dinnerware, cutlery and glassware from Ikea for use during staff meals and meetings throughout the year, preventing a lot of waste from being generated during these events. These events typically produced a lot of waste in the form of plastic water bottles, plastic/paper plates, and plastic cutlery.

This may seem a small step, purchasing reusable items, but it is actually a big step when you realize just how much waste was produced during just one of these events. Thank you to Principal McAndrews for supporting this change!

Another positive change happening at Bay Middle School is the replacement of foam trays used for purchased school lunches to biodegradable trays. Styrofoam – or polystyrene – is a terrible pollutant for the earth, as it does not biodegrade but breaks into smaller and smaller pieces that never go away. Polystyrene is made of fossil fuels and synthetic chemicals which leach into hot, greasy or acidic food. Polystyrene is not recyclable, it can only be put into landfills.

The new biodegradable trays will still be thrown into the trash bound for the landfill, however they will eventually break down and not continue to pollute the earth as polystyrene does. Another added benefit: The biodegradable trays are a much healthier choice for the students!

The PTA Green Team committee also formed a student Green Team. The first meeting was held on Oct. 17 for seventh- and eighth-graders. The meeting was very well attended and the students were passionate about the cause and creating positive change in the school. They had lots of great ideas for improvement!

The Committee is excited about the student enthusiasm and ideas about to continue to improve the school’s environmental footprint. It’s incredible how tuned-in students are to this issue and how much thinking they have already done about how they personally can change their habits. The students are our future and they give me a lot of hope!

If your school has a similar club or committee that you would like me to write about, please email me at jennifer@bayvillagegreenteam.org.

Read More on The Green Report
Volume 10, Issue 21, Posted 10:00 AM, 11.06.2018