Get the plastic foam trays out of the lunch room

February 04. 2018 12:22AM

To the Editor: I am writing on behalf of a Bedford-based Destination Imagination team. This year, our group has been advocating for the removal of environmentally and biologically unhealthy Styrofoam lunch trays in the Bedford School District and the implementation of a paper-based biodegradable alternative.

Every week, our school district uses over 15,000 Styrofoam trays, which get passed on to landfills, where they stay for hundreds of years. Additionally, polystyrene and bisphenol-A, main ingredients in Styrofoam, are probable carcinogens causing, among other things, cancer, hearing loss, fertility problems, and nerve damage.

Recently, a warrant article was introduced to the school board, which, if passed, would launch our biodegradable tray initiative by adding a nominal additional cost to the school budget. In order to catalyze our project, we urge Bedford students, parents, and residents to show their support by endorsing the effort at the Feb. 6 deliberative session, and by voting in favor of the reform on March 13, at the town elections.

MITCHEL SOEDERBERG

Bedford