POINT BEACH — “Dirty dishes” are being “done dirt cheap” at the Point Pleasant Beach High School after the district was awarded $20,000 from Sustainable Jersey for the new project, bringing back reusable trays, dishes and utensils to the school cafeteria.
“We have always wanted to go as green as possible,” said School Business Administrator Brian Savage. “It has always been one of our initiatives in the district.”
Mr. Savage was informed about the highly competitive $10,000 Sustainable Jersey grants during a recent school board convention. After learning about the opportunity for two grants, equalling $20,000 total, which could help reach the school’s goal of going green, he did not hesitate to apply. Out of over 40 districts that applied, Point Beach was the only district to receive both grants.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We were already looking at the possibility of installing dishwashers, but they are expensive,” said Mr. Savage. “So we put in a grant for a dishwashing system and we needed the utensils and the trays. Right now we are using one-offs, and we wanted to get rid of the disposable and get reusable.”
The high school currently has a 30-year-old rack and stainless steel dishwashing system. The grant money will be used to update and modify the system and the rest of the funds will then be used for purchasing reusable equipment.
“I think this is going to be beneficial and create less waste,” said Mr. Savage. “It will be more efficient because we won’t be putting all of these trays in the landfills and we thought that was great. We will be eliminating the waste that schools produce on a daily basis during the school year.”
Subscribe today! If you're not already an annual subscriber to The Ocean Star, get your subscription today! For just $38 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.
For more on this story, read the next edition of The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.
Check out our other Point Pleasant Beach stories, updated daily. And remember to pick up a copy of The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.
