(HARRISON COUNTY, MS) January 25, 2023 – This month, the Harrison County School District rolled out an environmentally-friendly program aimed at reducing waste at mealtimes. The HCSD Child Nutrition Department has been purchasing reusable compartment trays for all school cafeterias in the district. The new fiberglass trays supplement the disposable packaging that has been used for many years, especially during the COVID shutdown, emergency meal service, and updated school reopening procedures.
The change started when polystyrene, one of the main ingredients in foam food packaging, became scarce during COVID due to more food establishments increasing the use of disposable packaging. HCSD has experienced a noticeable difference since the reusable tray program was implemented. During COVID, HCSD schools were using over 300,000 foam to-go boxes every month. Now, we are down to a third of this usage. The district has also been able to hire additional staff to operate the dish rooms to wash and sanitize the new trays.
The trays feature custom school colors. Reporters with WLOX and WXXV visited the D’Iberville High campus to see how this program promotes sustainability and fosters students and staff to be more environmentally aware.
Watch the WXXV story here: Harrison County School District using new trays- WXXV 25
Watch the WLOX story here: Harrison County School District launches more eco-friendly cafeteria trays (wlox.com)
