PS 154 in Windsor Terrace officially became the first school in New York City to ban styrofoam lunch trays and replace them with environmentally friendly trays made from sugar fiber. Council Member Bill de Blasio appeared at a press event this morning with parents and students to make the announcement. City school currently use 850,000 styrofoam trays a day or more than 4 million per week. Per a press release from the Councilman’s office:

The new trays are made from sugar cane fiber known as Bagasse, made from cane fiber pulp left after juicing. They are designed to easily break down either in a landfill or in backyard composting, within 45 days. In contrast, the trays made of styrofoam typically take 10,000 years to break down and studies suggest the possibility of chemical migration into the food our children eat each day.

More detail tomorrow.