20 schools in the greater Los Angeles area competed in Grades of Green’s 7th annual Trash Free Lunch Challenge, and we could not be prouder of their results! The Trash Free Lunch Challenge is a competition for elementary and middle schools to see who can reduce their lunchtime waste the most This year, schools have collectively diverted 46,350 pounds of waste (over 460 tons of trash!) from landfills. Check out the press featuring these awesome schools below:




Keller is a Trash Free Lunch Champ – LBUSD News (also available here)




Los Alamitos school finalist in waste reduction competition – Orange County Breeze (also available here)




Saugus schools succeed in Trash Free Lunch Challenge – Santa Clarita Valley Signal (also available here)



Trash Free Lunch at OLG School – Easy Reader News (also available here)




Local elementary kids clear 460 tons of garbage and a 40 under 40 award winner (also available here)

Did you know Grades of Green offers over 40 Activities to empower students to create environmental change in their community? Whether students are interested in water conservation, energy conservation, toxins reduction, or waste reduction, Grades of Green has a hands on, fun Activity with step-by-step instructions, downloadable resources, and more! If you are interested in tackling waste, one of Grades of Green’s most popular Waste Activities was Trash Free Lunches. However, we have recently refined this Activity and split it into two separate Activities: Trash Free Lunches and Waste Sorting Station.



The Trash Free Lunches Activity focuses on students spreading awareness about the need to create less trash through the use of reusable items, while also teaching kids how to pack their own trash free lunch. This is a great Activity for schools where a large portion of their student population brings their lunch to school.



The Waste Sorting Station Activity focuses on diverting waste from landfills by creating a waste sorting station where kids can sort their garbage into various containers. This is a great Activity for schools where a large portion of their student population receives lunch from the cafeteria.



For the best waste-reduction results, we recommend schools pair these Activities together! Schools that have competed in Grades of Green’s Trash Free Lunch Challenge have all paired these two website Activities together to reduce and average of 70% of their lunchtime waste, with winning schools reducing over 90% of their lunchtime waste.

Interested in signing up your school for an eco-competition? Check out Grades of Green’s Spring 2018 Water Challenge and click here to register!

Saint Anthony school in Long Beach, California kicked off their Grades of Green program with a huge splash thanks to the Kings Care Foundation and Blue Shield of California! The school is competing in the 2017-2018 Trash Free Lunch Challenge, and began by inviting Grades of Green to host a kick-off assembly to educate students about the program. Students were taught how to reduce, reuse, recycle, pack trash free lunches, and to use their new lunchtime sorting station. After the assembly, students who sorted their waste correctly earned a t-shirt. After lunch, students participated in a workshop to learn about the Kings Care Foundation G.O.A.L.S. program.  Students were split into four groups, and rotated to four interactive stations. They were able to play hockey with Kings player Kyle Clifford, practice recycling habits with a sorting game, spin the Grades of Green Jeopardy wheel to earn a reusable water bottle, and explore the brand new G.O.A.L.S. website features. Grades of Green is proud to partner with the Kings Care  Foundation on the Green Solutions platform, and was thrilled to bring the program to Saint Anthony!

To check out photos from the event, click here. To check out the press, click here, and click here! To read the Kings story about this awesome day, click here.