Samaya Cruz

To help reduce plastic waste across campus, the school cafeteria recently made a switch from typical plastic utensils to new World Centric® compostable wrapped cutlery, Oct. 13.
Currently, Westview is being used as a pilot for future district developments with the cutlery, and its testing stage plans to conclude today. If the majority of students feel that there was no loss in quality over the old utensils, the change will be implemented at other PUSD secondary schools.
The trial period allowed students and staff to speak out and give feedback on the product before deciding to carry out the change in full.
With the implementation of compostable cutlery, Westview aims to minimize its environmental footprint. This allows for reduced landfill waste while maintaining the convenience of disposable utensils for students and staff.
According to PUSD Food and Nutrition Area Supervisor Flora Biglaryan, there was only one contrasting factor between the new compostable cutlery and its prior non-biodegradable counterpart is the material the utensils and wrappers are made of.
“The only differences will be the material the utensils and wrappers are made of, both of which are commercially compostable” Biglaryan said.
Rather than conventional plastic, this cutlery is made from a chemical-free, unbleached plant called Polyfluoroalkyl. The materials in the cutlery are compostable; and, since the product is free of synthetic coatings, the fiber can absorb moisture and be digested by microbes more efficiently and effectively than traditional plastic. Replacing traditional plastic utensils with compostable ones also intends to decrease the amount of non-biodegradable trash generated.
Each individual wrapper that encloses the utensils is made from polylactic acid, a polymer made from plants. The wrapper has a 100% carbon offset, which intends to compensate for the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
World Centric®’s cutlery is known for meeting American Society for Testing and Materials standards for industrial composting. They are designed to reduce waste and provide a safe, non-toxic alternative to traditional plastic and styrofoam disposables. These resources are renewable, meaning they’re grown and replenished each season, unlike petroleum-based plastics that rely on fossil fuels.
Due to the benefits of compostable cutlery, Biglaryan stated the school had been considering switching to eco-friendly cutlery for a great amount of time now.
“We have been looking into procuring these for a while,” Biglaryan said. “As soon as it arrived at [Westview], we switched from plastic to plant-based.”
The reason for the sudden switch is the school’s efforts towards sustainability. Biglaryan said there has always been great interest in the use of compostables at Westview.
According to Biglaryan, other PUSD schools are testing out a variety of ways to reduce paper waste on campus.
“At some schools, we are planning to use plastic utensils but with dispensers to reduce wrapper waste,” Biglaryan said.
Biglaryan said that one obstacle to switching to these plant-based utensils is the increased price, since compostable products often cost more than petroleum-based plastics — an issue PUSD is still trying to navigate.
“As a department, we are trying to find economical ways to reduce waste without incurring costs that are not sustainable,” she said.
According to Biglaryan, the increased funding towards the new compostable cutlery has not affected the Food and Nutrition department. In order to adapt to the increased costs revolving around the cutlery, the school has decided to cut funding for other costly factors to allow for less money spent.
“We have reduced the use of other cost-leaders to justify the purchase,” Biglaryan said. “We feel that this change is worth the cost.”