Styrofoam in Early Childhood classroom food service.

There is something frightfully wrong about the trash leaving the early childhood classrooms at the end of the day. No, at least 3 times the trashcans must be emptied in the North Carolina preK classroom- after each meal. These bulging leaking bags are not only filled with biodegradable food waste, the ends of craft materials, abandoned student artwork, and swept up dirt, but also it contains as many styrofoam plates/bowls and plastic utensils (spoons/forks) as there are children in that class. With a ratio of 10 children to 1 teacher, a fully enrolled NC Pre-K classroom can produce approximately 20 styrofoam dishes and 20 plastic utensils as trash up to three times a day. That is 60 plates a day, 5 days a week for an entire school year. Keep multiplying those plates per child per classroom per center. In the past 5 years how much non-biodegradable waste have early childhood centers produced? Using the available statistics of enrollment in the state of North Carolina as pertains to the students in early childhood classrooms, where meals are included, the potential volume of waste is alarming.
Recycling, Sustainably sourced and sustainably used materials need to factor in to mitigate the negative environmental impact that continues to grow with each order form that is submitted. 
At Green IBIS we are looking into practical, sustainable solutions to address this issue, starting with data collection. Following data collection our proposal for the replacement of current materials used in the food service of our NCPre K classrooms starting with a model for one center at a time.
It is imperative that children see that we care about how we engage with our environment, and how our actions, even the most seemingly insignificant, do matter.