Pennsbury School District Holds First Zero Waste Day

FALLSINGTON, PA — Pennsbury School District celebrated its first-ever Zero Waste Day on Thursday, Feb. 17.

The event challenges students, staff, and the Pennsbury community to pay attention to the materials used on a daily basis. An emphasis on using only reusable items versus disposable items is made, as well as not making copies or printing anything unless it was essential.

The idea originated with a group of students at Quarry Hill Elementary School, which then gained the support of students from Fallsington and Oxford Valley Elementary Schools who were participating in the Philadelphia Zoo's Unless Contest. The contest is a year-long, project-based contest that encourages students to create real solutions to environmental issues in their lives.

Just in the past year, Pennsbury generated 1,367 tons of trash, with only 14% of it being recycled, according to a press statement from the school district.

"Last year, the Pennsbury School District used over 12,600 sheets of paper. That's about 1,250sheets of paper for every student," said Dr. Thomas Smith, Superintendent of Schools.

Dr. Smith partnered the school district with Waste Management, a Pennsbury Partner and supporter of the Pennsbury Education Foundation, in order to educate students and staff on the impact of waste and how to mitigate it in their everyday lives.

"Aiming for zero waste means using materials and products with reuse and recycling in mind," said Dr. Smith.

A lot of attention is also being paid to reducing single-use plastics in Pennsbury.

As part of the eco-friendly program, staff and students are encouraged to bring reusable water bottles and fill them at one of the over 40 bottle filling stations throughout the district. John Mormando, a fifth-grader at Fallsington Elementary School, voiced his support of measures such as these.

"We read an article in class, and it was about the North Pacific Garbage Patch. These patches of
garbage are so big. It said in the article there are two of these patches in one gyre. These patches
are each two times the size of Texas. So, combined, they are four times the size of Texas. And,
they have been there for so long because they're in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, which
is the biggest ocean. So that's where a lot of trash is going. They've been there for so long the
plastic has had time to decompose. It's creating microplastics, which, if you scoop them up, it's
just going to also catch other microorganisms, which is extremely deadly to the environment
because these organisms are key in the ecosystem. All of this trash is affecting every animal.
They say plastic is the number one thing that is damaging marine life. So, plastic is very, very
horrible."

The school district plans to continue working with Waste Management to incorporate eco-friendly sustainability throughout Pennsbury. Waste Management, which has been working with Pennsbury on similar initiatives for over 25 years, recently donated $25,000 to the Pennsbury Education Foundation through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Education Improvement Tax Credit Program.

The funds from the donation will be made available to Pennsbury teachers as they continue to teach similar practices to their students.

"We greatly appreciate the continued support of Waste Management as we work to improve our environmental efforts in Pennsbury and the community," said Dr. Smith. "We believe that small, daily choices make a big difference when practiced by many people. We look forward to expanding our efforts in the future."

The Nutrition Group, Pennsbury's food service provider, also supported the district's efforts by
using biodegradable trays and flatware on Zero Waste Day.

"We know that by making some changes in our district buildings, we can really have a huge
impact on our entire community," said Ms. Cohoon, whose students at Fallsington and Oxford Valley Elementary Schools partook in the Zero Waste Day.

"We know that much of what our students learn in school, they tend to bring home with them."