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# Giving lessons to help save the planet
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/giving-lessons-to-help-save-the-planet/
- Published: 2007-01-24T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T23:53:42.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Environment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Officials considering switch to biodegradable lunch trays A PRIVATE ASSAULT ON STYROFOAM*

SMMUSD HDQTRS Following in the footsteps of City Council, which condemned the use of non-recyclable disposable food containers ear-lier this month, school officials are pondering a ban of its own against the environmental demon in the district.

In efforts to reduce beach pollution, the council adopted an ordinance at its Jan. 9 meeting to ban the use of all “to-go” containers made from non-recyclable materials such as expanded polystyrene, known by its trademark name “Styrofoam,”and clear polystyrene from all businesses and city facilities. The ban on these products orders businesses to comply within one year from adoption and city facilities and city-sponsored events by Feb. 8.

Local schools do not fall under the ban, according to Dean Kubani, the city’s environmental programs manager.

In a city known for its campaigns to save the planet, school officials are currently assessing whether they should rid the district’s facilities of foam lunch trays, plates and cups.

“We have a very conscientious board and they will listen to recommendations of staff,” said Superintendent Dianne Talarico on Monday. “They will weigh the advantages of promoting the health of our global environment.”

For the past year, city and school officials have met to discuss the use of alternative products that won’t wash up on Santa Monica beaches. The major obstacle preventing the schools from taking the next step seems to be financial, according to Kubani.

“The schools \[already\] don’t have the money that they need for everything,” Kubani said. “If the alternative is slightly more expensive than what they’re using now, which is the cheapest stuff,it will have a budgetary impact.”

The environmentally sound change would-n’t come cheap.

An assessment conducted in the 2005-06 school year found that the district spent approximately $29,300 on foam lunch and meat trays, 6-and 9-inch foam plates and 8-ounce foam cups. A switch to biodegradable paper and pulp material would cost the district approximately $106,800 — a 264-percent increase.

If the district opted for containers made from Enviro-Foam — a material less harmful than expanded polystyrene, but takes longer to decompose than paper pulp — it would cost about $44,000.

The district currently purchases its supply of foam containers in a collaborative with other local school districts, slashing the price since the products are purchased in bulk. Such a discount would not be available if SMMUSD decided to change to biodegrad-able or compostable containers because officials in other districts have not expressed an interest, according to Deputy Superintendent Tim Walker.

“The majority of other districts are not moving in this direction,” Walker said on Monday.

The new citywide ban on non-recyclable containers does affect all private schools in the city, including Crossroads School.

There, over the past few years, students have taken a proactive role in encouraging the practice of recycling in the school.

“We have a group of students that sell Nalgene bottles and we have set up a vending machine that will fill them,” said Martha Goldstein, spokeswoman for Crossroads School. “Long ago, we discontinued using polystyrene products and we will review our services to ensure we are in compliance with the new ordinance.”

During a school board meeting last Thursday, Rachel Horn, a junior at Santa Monica High School, urged board members to change their ways in using expanded polystyrene for breakfast and lunch served in the district. During her speech, she held up both an expanded polystyrene tray used in a district and another tray made from sugar cane fiber.

Non-profit organization World Centric, based in Palo Alto, was the supplier of the latter container. The sugar cane fiber trays, called Bagasse, break down in about 30-90 days, depending on the compost conditions.

The organization currently supplies the Bagasse products, which are available in the form of plates, cups, trays and take-out containers, to several Northern California school districts, including Marin Academy in San Rafael and Burton Valley Elementary School in Lafayette, located about 14 miles northeast of Oakland.

“Some of the schools are starting gardens and their own composting system, which is the best way to go since it allows them to eliminate disposal fees,” said Amber Gartin, a customer service representative with World Centric.

In the two and a half years it’s been in existence,World Centric has aimed to reach out to schools to educate about the use of expanded polystyrene and other products that are detrimental to the environment.

Schools are one of the largest sources of waste for expanded polystyrene and are,therefore, one of the major contributors to its production, said Aseem Das, the executive director at World Centric.

“If the schools were to switch to biodegradable \[products\], it would be a great educational tool in educating students about waste issues,” Das said on Monday.“I think in both these regards, it’s great if schools switched over.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 24, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/012407.pdf?ref=smdp.com)