Her Green Project is Tray Magnifique!

Green is ’s school color.

Senior Lindsey Maiuri also wants green to be the school’s philosophy.

And she has taken a big step toward helping the school become friendlier to the environment.

Thanks to her persistence and hard work, the high school and all schools in the district now serve lunch on disposable trays.

These trays, which were used for the first time this week, will end up not in the landfill or even the recycling bin.

They will be used instead to help create compost in the compost pile that is expected to begin in the spring.

That project was also started by Maiuri.

The new “green’’ trays will replace the foam trays, which are not biodegradable. The foam trays are also made with an oil-based product, which Maiuri said can be harmful to the user’s health.

The tray effort began with a quick stop to to grab a snack during an Environmental Club field trip to test water.

She noticed that biodegradable plates on the shelves. That led to a light bulb moment.

After some research, she decided the schools should consider the biodegradable Chinet Savaday brand.

The project took effort. She researched the options, prepared her argument, then met with , the Grafton schools' food service director for Whitsons, and other school officials, up to and including Superintendent of Schools Jay Cummings.

Everyone offered support, she said. But, she learned, change can take time.

So she kept at it even as it became “overwhelming at times.’’ She determinedly reminded people of her goal and continued to do the needed research and legwork.

“It’s a huge effort,’’ environmental science teacher Deborah Cote said. “She didn’t give up. Thank God she didn’t.’’

Maiuri was inspired by the lessons she learned in Cote’s environmental science and advanced environmental science classes in her sophomore and junior years. 

“I loved it, and I kept going with it,’’ she said.

As a senior, she is doing independent study with Cote. The trays and the composting project are part of that study.

She continues to work to educate and encourage students to recycle their cafeteria products. She regularly updates a bulletin board with environmental awareness messages.

A chart reminds students that green bins are for organic materials, such as food remnants, napkins and of course the trays; blue is for recyclables, and gray for trash.

Cote, who has been delivering the message about environmental awareness for years, is amazed that this is finally happening. And she knows why it is.

“I have been trying to get something like this to happen for at least 10 years,’’ she said. “It’s because of Lindsey. She doesn’t give up.’’