1. Making a Difference! Ben Franklin Elementary School

2. In 2010: No Milk Cartons were recycled at Ben Franklin We use about 750 per week, about 3,000 per month and about 30,000 per year

3. Milk Carton Recycling: Each day, Ben Franklin students empty and recycle milk cartons from all three lunches We recycle about 40 pounds of milk cartons every two weeks, about 80 pounds every month and about 800 pounds each year These milk cartons do NOT go to a landfill!

4. What About our Lunch Trays? We use between 165–180 trays per day. That is over 34,000 trays per year. Our lunch trays are made of Styrofoam, so they NEVER biodegrade, or break down. 34,000 trays stacked on top of each other is as tall as 2 Empire State Buildings, or as long as 30 football fields, and that goes into a landfill each year, just from Ben Franklin

5. 2013-14 School Year Thanks to help from the Lawrence Township Education Foundation, The Lawrence Township Board of Education, Sustainable Jersey and the Lawrence Township Community Foundation….

6. We will have lunch trays made of cornstarch that look and feel like our old ones but are 100% BIODEGRADABLE. We will eliminate 680 pounds of trash from a landfill each year just from Ben Franklin!