Recognizing the School District of Philadelphia for providing compostable cafeteria trays as part of its effort to reduce plastics pollutions and develop proactive environmentally-friendly policies.

WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia recently announced that it would replace polystyrene cafeteria trays with compostable plates produced from 100 percent recycled paper fibers which, according to school officials, will help keep nine million pieces of plastic foam out of landfills annually; and

WHEREAS, The change was made possible through the District's participation in the Urban School Food Alliance, a nonprofit coalition created to address the unique needs of the nation’s largest school districts through the sharing of best practices and leveraging their purchasing power to ensure that all public school students across the nation receive healthy, nutritious meals through socially responsible practices; and

WHEREAS, Shifting from polystyrene trays to compostable plates helps reduce plastics pollution in communities and oceans, creating valuable compost that can be re-used on farms as well as slashing significant amounts of waste going to overburdened landfills; and

WHEREAS, Schools across America use polystyrene trays because they cost less than compostable ones. Polystyrene trays average about $0.04 apiece, compared to its compostable counterpart, which averages about $0.12 each; however, the Urban School Food Alliance districts used their collective purchasing power to innovate a compostable round plate for schools at an affordable cost of about $0.05 each; and

WHEREAS, This initiative aligns with GreenFutures, the School District’s overall sustainability plan and advances the District’s work in reducing the City’s environmental impact; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia school officials are meeting with student environmental clubs to help design a marketing campaign to get the word out about the new compostable plates and how they help preserve the environment; and

WHEREAS, As the City strives for “Zero Waste,” the School District of Philadelphia is proactively making a change for the betterment of our community which can serve as a model for schools around the country; now therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby recognizes the School District of Philadelphia for providing compostable cafeteria trays as part of its effort to reduce plastics pollutions and develop proactive environmentally-friendly policies.

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