Sustainable Recess: Pleasanton School Doles Out Reusable Sporks

PLEASANTON, CA — For decades, single-use plastic cutlery has been as much of a school lunch staple as the half-pint milk carton or peanut butter and jelly. But the plastic fork that a student might use for ten minutes could take 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill, National Geographic reported.

The Walnut Grove Elementary School Roadrunners aren't having it anymore.

Five students showed off their new, green reusable plastic sporks in a photo posted to the Pleasanton Unified School District Facebook page. The students stood in front of charts that tracked the students' use of reusable utensils in January and indicated declining use of plastic cutlery packets on campus over the past few months.

Roadrunners "are set on saving the world in 2020," the district wrote.

All students in first through fifth grade were given the sporks to use on a daily basis and students will be able to earn prizes for using the new cutlery.

"Way to go Roadrunners!" the district wrote.

Read more about single-use plastic cutlery in National Geographic.