Cutlery Can Be Decomposable?

Cutlery Can Be Decomposable

2021, Northridge High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Yaritza Morfin
Before Yaritza’s project, her school cafeteria was distributing plastic utensils for lunches. Yaritza looked into this and found that plastic utensils can take over 450 years to decompose! She knew she had to take action. Yaritza worked with the cafeteria team to make the switch to biodegradable utensils. The cafeteria didn’t have the proper infrastructure to switch to reusable utensils, so she settled with biodegradable utensils. She specifically moved forward with sporks because they could take the place of both spoons and forks, decreasing her school’s plastic waste. With about 150 students eating lunch at school everyday for four days a week, Yaritza managed to decrease the amount of plastic waste while also reducing about twenty-three pounds of CO2 emissions in one month!
Cutlery Can Be Decomposable

Mother Native

2021, Greeley West High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Brookelynn Hernandez and Helena Rangel
Colorado has been affected by drought and it’s only becoming worse with climate change. This means that there is a greater need to conserve our water sources. Our local watersheds such as the Cache la Poudre and Big Thompson watersheds are significantly affected by drought and climate change. That’s why Brookelynn and Helena decided to encourage community members to xeriscape their gardens. Xeriscaping can reduce water use by 50% to 70% and by conserving water, we are keeping our watersheds healthy and flowing. They decided to set up a booth at our local farmers market and give out free succulents to promote xeriscaping and educate people about the benefits of using native plants. Attendees were excited to take their new succulents home to start taking action!

Fish Pets Help Prevent Upset Species

Fish Prevent

2019, Northridge High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Daniel Rodriguez, Elian Martinez
Daniel and Elian worked with elementary students to inform them of the dangers the result from littering. During these visits they discussed how littering affects fishes surrounding their community. Litter can make its way into storm drains and into our watersheds if it’s not disposed of properly. Both Daniel and Elian believe littering is a result of bad habits that are developed at an early age. They asked the elementary students to take care of the betta fishes Daniel and Elian provided to them so the student would build a close and positive relationship with the fishes. This in turn, would encourage the third graders to protect their watershed. Both Daniel and Elian would like to see this project become a recurring tradition at their high school.
Fish Prevent

Eco-Friendly Skin Care Products

2021, Sacramento, CA, USA

Grant High School students Sabela Tekle, Ana Martinez, and Jessica Jimenez are concerned about the harmful ingredients that are added to many cosmetic and skincare products and the effect these additives could have on the environment and long- term health of consumers. They are also concerned about the plastic waste generated by the beauty product industry.

To raise awareness about these issues and provide an alternative for their peers, these students created their own natural face scrub using natural ingredients such as brown sugar for an exfoliant, and provided it in reusable/ recyclable tin jars. They used the products as giveaways in a launch/awareness event at school during which they shared information about harmful additives and plastic use in the beauty industry and alternatives. To reach those not present at school during COVID, they posted on Instagram and shared the link to a webpage that shared more info on their project and product.

Promoting Fair Trade and Reusable Products

2021, Sacramento, CA, USA

When Grant High School students Faith Xiong, Nicholas Vang, and Tralisa Cheng started researching environmental issues and sustainability, they learned about Fair Trade certification, and that it is a way to make a conscious choice to support responsible companies, empower workers, and protect watersheds. They knew they wanted to do a project to promote the fair trade industry. They also knew they wanted to promote the use of reusable products to reduce the waste from single-use plastics, styrofoam, etc. They proposed a unique project that allowed them to do both. The students created coffee mugs for their teachers with their own original artwork and environmental messages. With the reusable mugs, they provided Fair Trade coffee and attached info cards that described the fair trade mission and benefits and encouraged recipients to support fair trade products. Their project raised awareness about Fair Trade, promoted reusable products, and expressed deep appreciation for their teachers working hard through distance learning in a pandemic.

Pollinator DIY Craft Kits

2021, Sacramento, CA, USA

Erica Siriouthay Jaephin Vue, Tayonna Smith, students at Grant High School, are concerned about the decline of pollinators. As they researched the topic, they realized that many people don’t really understand the important role pollinators play in agriculture and the ecosystem as a whole. To address these issues, the team initiated a creative project to raise awareness about pollinators, the threats they face, and how people could help. Realizing that more people were spending time at home during COVID-19 and looking for activities to do with their family during quarantine, the team decided to put together DIY craft kits. Each kit would include eco-friendly, sustainably sourced materials and instructions to make a stuffed, crocheted bee, as well as information about pollinators and a link to a webpage with more info on native bees and pollinator- friendly plants. The team also set up an Instagram where kids could post pics of their completed bees and create a “buzz” around the topic of pollinators. The kits, called “Bumbable” (combo of “Bumblebee” and “capable/ sustainable”) provide parents and children with a fun, hands- on project that introduces an important environmental issue.

Community Thrift Event

2021, Cincinnati, OH, USA

From the beginning, Stefanie and Caitlin knew the harmful effects of fast fashion on
the Millcreek watershed were what they wanted to address. From clothing waste in landfills,
dyes polluting our waterways, and water waste, this is a very important issue to tackle. Their
initial plan was to put on a “Community Thrifting Event.” They had planned on going to
collect clothes, repair old ones, rent out space, and hold an in-person event. However, Covid
numbers in their area just weren’t low enough where they felt comfortable putting on this
event.

Instead of putting on one event for people to thrift, they decided to focus on teaching people the importance of thrifting continuously. They presented a video to six science classes in our school, as well as sharing it with their local community through youtube. They also created a Kahoot to quiz the classes after the video, fostering a class discussion around the effects of fast fashion and thrifting. The winners of the kahoot each won a reusable tote bag to hopefully take with them on their future thrifting endeavors!

They also created a thrifting guide, for secondhand spots in the Cincinnati area, with information regarding prices and available items. Using a QR code, we passed out these thrifting guides in the form of a business card, making it an accessible and easy
way to get into thrifting.

Unmasking the Truth

2021, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Victoria Gordon Pagard from West Kildonan Collegiate in Winnipeg, MB noticed the increased amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) waste that was popping up in her community, particularly at her school where masks had become mandatory during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Single-use plastics are used so often, but not much thought goes into what happens to that plastic once it has served its purpose.”

She noted that the City of Winnipeg had encouraged people to throw disposable masks in the garbage instead of the recycling so that they would not get caught in machinery or pose health risks to recycling employees.

“My proposal works to address this situation and offer a solution that is both sustainable and safe!”

Victoria ordered TerraCycle PPE recycling boxes to have around her school to help safely dispose of used PPE during the pandemic. Even after the pandemic, these boxes will be helpful in science labs around the school. TerraCycle also offers other recycling boxes for items such as art supplies, coffee capsules, and markers which could be utilized by the school, as well.

Custom Keyboard

2021, Seven Oaks Met School, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

When you think about sustainability do you think about the keyboard you use at your computer? Chasz from Seven Oaks Met School in Winnipeg, MB did! Chasz created custom-built mechanical keyboards that are longer lasting, more eco-friendly, and more sustainable than their cheaper plastic counterparts!
Student holding custom keyboard creation
“With our new world where most of us are at home and may continue to work from home even after the pandemic, a lot of jobs require you to sit at your desk and type for long amounts of time. The keyboard you use can really affect your productivity. Cheaper keyboards do not last long and have a very unenjoyable typing experience. They are also hard to recycle from the consumer standpoint and from the actual recycling of the keyboard (Statista, 2020). Most people who build their keyboards themselves or have them made specifically to their liking have said that they experience better productivity and a better overall mood while typing or working. I think it’s important to keep the mental health of people with desk jobs a very high priority since nearly 40% of the Canadian workforce is working from home and an even bigger number for those working at a desk (Advisors Edge, 2020). This project is greatly affiliated with SDG goal #3 because like I said, I would like to preserve and improve the mental health of those working desk jobs.”

Composting for a Cause

2021, West Kildonan Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Woman and man posing in front of door smiling

Have you ever thought about how much food waste is produced by restaurants? Nicholas from West Kildonan Collegiate in Winnipeg, MB came up with an idea to get more restaurants to compost some of their waste to divert it from the landfill and have it turn into something useful! He partnered with a local company called Compost Winnipeg, and they were able to fund restaurants subscriptions with this composting company for a couple of months to get them started in hopes that they would continue recycling afterwards. They also held a successful community recycling event to educate local members of the community on the benefits of compost at home!

“As a community it is our obligation and responsibility to take care of our Watershed so our future descendants, and wildlife alike have a safe, healthy, and nurturing place to enjoy and to depend on for generations. My proposal works to reduce the amount of food waste produced by restaurants in our community, and to divert their food waste away from landfills.”

Man and woman posing in front of composting truck

Roughage Eatery logo
Compost Winnipeg logo
Wall Street Slice logo