Plastic free lunch day at QSI

On November 2, Plastic Free Lunch Day USA came to QSI. This event is where everyone tries to not use any single-use plastic products in their lunch. Single-use plastic products are primarily made from fossil fuels, and are meant to be thrown away after a single use. Plastic Free Lunch Day encourages students to reduce landfills and brings attention to the issue.

Ms. Rhonda Keyser, the outreach and cafeteria program director at Cafeteria Culture, helps schools reduce their amount of trash. According to Keyser, the idea for having a plastic-free lunch day came from elementary school students at PS15 in Brooklyn, in 2019. Plastic-free lunch day was so successful that they convinced NYC schools to make it city-wide. NYC schools officially had its first ever plastic-free lunch day in May, 2022.  This November was the first nationwide Plastic Free Lunch Day. 

Mr. Adam Zaid, who co-teaches Climate Solutions and is the faculty advisor for the Green Team, is dedicated to fighting climate change. He was very excited about Plastic Free Lunch Day and planned to do many things. 

“I’m going to screen Microplastic Madness for the climate change class. I’m going to send around the 2-minute promotional video for Plastic-Free Lunch Day to all the teachers in the school. [And] I’m going to encourage all students to use less plastic in the cafeteria by not using plastic,” he said.

Zaid wasn’t the only one participating in this national event. The Green Team tried to get the word out to the entire student body. Sophomore Lior Poler, a member of the Green Team, took a leading role. Poler created a Google Form about Plastic Free Lunch Day that students could access with a QR code. In total, 77 students completed the form.

“I think it was a successful day as it shows what grades and / or specific students would participate in this kind of thing,” Poler said.

The members at Green Team are passionate about fighting climate change and see the value in Plastic-Free Lunch Day. 

“This is a good first step to eliminating plastic,” said Esther Simkhayeva, a junior and former student advisor for the middle school Green Team.

“It’s a good way to raise awareness. If kids see they don’t need plastic, they won’t turn to using it as much,” said senior, Tehreen Qamar. Senior Sophia Lin agrees that raising awareness is a critical matter.  “[It] raises awareness about why it should be plastic free and why we should strive to make everyday plastic free,” she said.

The next Plastic-Free Lunch Day will be on Dec. 14. Participation is heavily encouraged and students can help by not using single-use plastic products.