At the recent school assemblies before Veterans Day weekend, Eco Club President and Senior Dani B. encouraged BASIS Independent Brooklyn students, educators, and administrators to reduce waste by bringing their own utensils and plates if they use Butter Beans, our school lunch provider. The Grizzly endorses her plan – Operation Reduce Waste – to decrease the amount of plastic utensils and paper plates used at our school.

In her speech, Dani B. stated that “by 2040, the amount of plastic trash that flows into the oceans every year is expected to nearly triple to 29 million metric tons.” As a result, “in just 28 years, plastic trash in the ocean will outweigh all the fish in the sea.” This data is jarring, and by bringing in reusable plates and utensils, students, teachers, and administrators can do their part in helping to reduce plastic use within the school community.

The Grizzly also encourages the Butter Beans company to assist the students in achieving this goal. The utensils distributed by Butter Beans are bundled in sets containing a plastic fork, spoon, and knife, wrapped in plastic packaging. Thus, when a student wants a fork, they must take all three utensils, some of which will go unused and end up as even more plastic in the school’s trash bins. If Butter Beans instead allowed students to take only the utensils they plan on using, this would be a beneficial first step in the Operation Reduce Waste program.

Dani B. powerfully stated, “at the end of the day, there is always an opportunity for action and a risk of inaction.” The Grizzly team encourages all students, educators, and administrators to take this opportunity for action as one step to make BASIS Independent Brooklyn a more environmentally conscious school.