Minnesota district hopes grant will bolster recycling and reduce waste

Eden Prairie School District officials hope a grant will help reduce the number of lunch trays and other reusable items that have to be purchased at Eden Prairie High School.

In June, the School Board accepted a $12,500 grant to the district from Hennepin County. It “will be used at Eden Prairie High School to improve the current food service recycling process to reduce utensil waste and enhance the food recycling process,” according to School Board documents.

Director of Child Nutrition Roxann Roushar said the high school has provided reusable plates, bowls and trays in the district’s lunch line and some paper goods and plastic ware during lunch periods. The school had a cart for trays, plates and bowls and three garbage cans for disposal and clean up.

Roushar said one of the biggest issues at lunch has been students throwing away the reusable plates, bowls and trays during the school’s five lunch periods. Staff will pull the items out of the garbage when they see it, but they can’t always keep up, especially during the first lunch period. In the last three years the district spent $5,069.40 for 70 cases of washable bowls and $2,667.11 for 23 cases of plates.

With the grant, her department plans to add three recycling stations in the South Commons and two in the East Commons. Each station will include signage and a table with sides that hold trash bins. The top of the table will also have an area for the reusable items.

“Over the years, the district has made a commitment to build its recycling program by including recycling stations to all the cafeterias. Recycling stations are a significant cost. The grant made it possible to add five stations at the high school,” she said.

The district plans to implement the changes in September.

“With the new recycling stations, there will be clear places for reusable items and a better sorting station for trash. Our hope is we have less replacement of trays, bowls and plates,” Roushar explained.

The district has utilized reusable trays for about 20 years and they typically last many years before they need to be replaced. In the last three to four years the district has switched to using the reusable bowls and plates, Roushar said.

After the new stations are implemented at EPHS, the district will continue to track its need to purchase reusable bowls and plates.