Reusable trays on trial at New Lebanon School

GREENWICH — Custodians at New Lebanon School used to change out trash bags in the cafeteria every half-hour as students tossed their pastic foam trays after lunch, totaling five to six bags of trash a day.

But since the school switched to reusable metal trays last week, the cafeteria has produced only five trash bags this week, a reduction of 80 percent.

The Greenwich school district, led by the Green Schools Committee, the Food Services Committee and the Food Services Department, introduced metal trays at the school on May 13 in a reusable system trial. It is the first step toward a goal of installing dishwashers and adding trays at town schools.

The initial resolution stipulated the district buy trays and dishwashers “as soon as possible.” The program began in part to get ahead of a bill that could be approved in Connecticut banning plastic foam in public schools.

New Lebanon was the only school that could test the trays because it is the only one with a dishwasher. The district purchased 192 metal trays for New Lebanon, enough for multiple waves of students if the dishwasher stops working.

Director of Food Services John Hopkins and Chief Operating Officer Lorianne O’Donnell went there for lunch, and have been “feeling good about” about the switch, Hopkins said.

“So far, it’s been well-received,” Hopkins said. “So far, it’s been a positive experience.”

The Board of Education approved the purchase of the trays, and in a sense-of-the-meeting resolution, members unanimously said they would like to see plastic foam phased out and reusable trays phased in by this summer. They stopped short of an interim appropriation, citing how the Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Representative Town Meeting would receive the appropriation and its timing.

“The continued use of singleuse, disposable food ware is not sustainable in the long run, for the environment and for the budget,” said Julie Des Champs, a parent and committee member championing the cause.

The school has also started collecting liquids and recycling, cutting the weight of lunchtime trash in half.

Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media Anna Marie Henry-Taska, a second grader at New Lebanon School enjoys her lunch. The school piloted metal trays this week, part of an effort by the Green Schools Committee to reduce waste during school lunch.