As ETC expands our role in other areas of North Carolina, we would like to take a moment to honor the folks in Durham who have worked so hard to improve sustainability in Durham Public Schools. Please take a look at the progress that has been made since 2014.
Durham Public Schools Updates
“School Nutrition Services of Durham Public Schools has committed to purchasing a compostable tray for all schools for the 2017-2018 school year. This is an additional expense which School Nutrition feels is necessary to meet the need of our students.”
-James Keaten, Executive Director, Durham Public Schools, School Nutrition Services, Spring 2017
“Beginning in the 2016-2017 year, every elementary school has access to lunchroom recycling materials. Materials include liquid buckets for dumping excess milk, blue recycling bins, and instructional posters. Schools are encouraged to provide an easy-to-access station for students to dump their milk, recycle, and then toss their trash.”
-DPS website 2017
Durham Public Schools is one of the top 10 largest in the state, serving some 34,000 students in both the city and county of Durham. Durham’s public schools are nearly as diverse as our 270,000 residents. The school system offers a wealth of options for students and families; we have something for every kind of learner.
Durham has 33,941 students at this time, and 22,456 students (66%) receive free and reduced lunch. DPS can now proudly add to its accomplishments that it is watching out for the health and environmental safety of all of Durham’s residents!
– DPS website 2017
We would also like to thank Crystal Dreisbach, the chair of Don’t Waste Durham, for her acknowledgement of the role of Every Tray Counts in this effort.
Don’t Waste Durham first connected with Every Tray Counts in 2014. We were very excited to hear about the successful experiences they had on their home turf and access their expertise. They then helped get the first compostable tray and lunchroom composting program in Durham started with a pilot project at E.K. Powe Elementary School. The best practices which Every Tray Counts brought to the E.K. Powe program were critical and led to the successful, self-sustaining program that the school enjoys today. ETC lobbied the Durham Public Schools Administration for the elimination of Styrofoam trays, and this resulted in DPS’ recent announcement that they will be providing compostable lunch trays to ALL schools starting this 2017-2018 school year. Thanks to ETC’s guidance and sharing of lessons learned, Don’t Waste Durham is now assisting in the replication of E.K. Powe’s program to other public schools in Durham! This can only mean an doubling, tripling, quadrupling, etc. of the positive impacts on waste diversion and community and environment health in Durham. Persistence pays off! Thank you, Every Tray Counts!
-Crystal Dreisbach, Chair, Don’t Waste Durham
Please be sure to keep up with DWD’s efforts in the school system. You can keep track, or join, by following their website here. For other groups and people who have made a big difference in this effort, please look on our website under “Schools in Action”. There you will see other heroes such as Keep Durham Beautiful and Oval Park Grille.