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Student voices for a greener future
TAKE AWAY TOXIC TRAYS Incoming fifth graders from River Oaks Elementary campaigned to make a change in their cafeteria after they found out that their lunch trays included toxic chemicals. Their efforts succeeded, and HISD has agreed to conduct a pilot program next year using alternative trays. Pictured, from left: Celine David, Dora Cabarcas, council member Letitia Plummer, and Maddie Woods.
Hello! We are River Oaks Elementary incoming fifth graders Maddie Woods, Dora Cabarcas, and Celine David, and we want to share something important with you.
Every day, students across Houston ISD eat their lunch on polystyrene trays. That may not sound like a big deal, but it really is. HISD uses about 22 million of these trays every year. Polystyrene, also known as Styrofoam, may be cheap, but it’s incredibly harmful to our health and our planet.
When polystyrene is heated, it releases benzene, a chemical known to cause cancer. And after lunch is over, those trays don’t just disappear. They end up in landfills, where they take hundreds to thousands of years to break down. That’s not just bad. That’s toxic!
This all started with our school district’s Gifted and Talented (GT) Expo project. We were asked to explore a real-world problem and come up with a solution. The inspiration for the project came from Madhvi Chittoor, a young environmental activist from Colorado who successfully led efforts to ban polystyrene in her home state. Inspired by Madhvi’s determination and impact, we decided to tackle the issue in our own school district. Once we learned what polystyrene really is, we knew something had to change.
Since then, we’ve hosted a booth at the Water Works Festival for Earth Day, represented our school at the GT District Wide Expo, and shared our ideas with HISD Nutrition Services.
We also got the chance to meet with HISD’s Superintendent Mike Miles, and we have exciting news that HISD has agreed to conduct a pilot program next school year using alternative trays at River Oaks Elementary School and Hogg Middle School. This is a huge step forward!
We presented at Houston City Council, speaking in front of Mayor John Whitmire and council members to raise awareness. Council member Dr. Letitia Plummer invited us to be part of the City’s #100DayChallenge, a campaign encouraging Houstonians to reduce single-use plastics. We’ve accepted the challenge and hope others will join us too!
We know there’s still more work to do. But with students, families, and leaders working together, we believe HISD can lead the way. Because let’s face it… We deserve better!
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