Volume XXXII, Issue 1 Page 29

© 2016 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

The Biggest Reducer program was developed, with a grant from the NOAA Climate 

Steward Education Project, to educate students about the growing problem of foodrelated waste and incite them to take action to reduce waste production during their daily 

lunches. Through recording of weekly waste production and an in-school assembly on 

waste reduction practices, the program aimed at a 15% waste reduction post-education. 

After a week of data collection and one random spot check, a 50% waste reduction was seen 

overall. The program materials are available online for replication.

Introduction

Unnecessary packaging and food waste plague our everyday lives. In 2013, Americans generated 254 

million tons of municipal solid waste (Figure 1). The EPA estimates that an individual school lunch 

produces an average of 67 pounds of trash per year1. Through observation of school fieldtrips 

and summer camps, the staff at Riverwalk Nature Center in Rockledge, Florida noticed a large 

amount of prepackaged food with excess plastic and cardboard containers. Much of the 

packaging waste was plastic films and bags which cannot be recycled by most municipal 

recycling centers. Some of the waste was unnecessary packaging such as cardboard 

sleeves surrounding plastic containers. 

The largest problem of food related waste might not be the food containers but actually 

the food itself. It is estimated that 30-40% of food produced is thrown away2. Food waste 

comprises around 15% of our waste stream, second only to paper3. If just half of that 

yearly waste was anaerobically digested, it would generate enough electricity to power 

over 2.5 million homes for a year4, or roughly the entire state of Nevada. It is estimated 

that in the US 3,000 pounds of food is wasted every second5. That is enough food 

wasted in one day to feed the states of California and Florida combined.

The Biggest Reducer Was Born

In order to shed light on this issue, a pilot program, The Biggest Reducer, (Figure 2) to teach about 

the issue of food related debris was devised and tested on children attending Marine Biology Camp 

at Riverwalk: A Family Park. Children were given reusable Wrap-N-Mat sandwich wraps and tips 

on how to reduce waste. Changes were seen in the children’s lunch packing habits throughout the 

week. Some even continued these changes in behavior when they returned the following year. After 

The Biggest Reducer:

A Lesson in

Waste Reduction

Figure 1. Total Municipal Solid 

Waste Generation (by Material), 

2013, 254 Million Tons (before 

recycling)

Source: EPA

Brandon Smith, Environmental Program Supervisor, 

Brevard Parks and Recreation
Page 30 The Earth Scientist

© 2016 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

seeing positive results with 

just a small amount of education, a decision to expand the 

program to reach a broader 

audience was made. Funding 

of $2,000 was found through 

the NOAA Climate Stewards 

Education Project. A formal 

presentation was developed to 

be used in school assemblies 

and was offered to schools 

to cover up to 500 students. 

A local school teacher was 

consulted during the development to ensure school standards were being met 

through the program.

Upon the initial release three schools signed up to be involved in the program, 

Ralph Williams Elementary, Imagine School at West Melbourne, and Palm Bay 

Elementary. A workshop was held to familiarize the participating teachers with 

the program, insure they knew their responsibilities, and provide them with the 

supplies needed. Each teacher was provided with a digital hanging scale, data 

sheets, and a parent letter. Access to the digital copies of the data sheets and 

parent letter as well as the assembly presentation and supplemental materials was 

provided through Google Docs. The schools provided trash bags and waste receptacles (Figure 3). 

Each classroom was then tasked with dividing out their lunch waste into three 

categories: recyclables, organic food waste (compostables), and trash. The weight 

of each category was taken daily and recorded on a weekly data sheet which was 

reported via a Google Form. The students were given no insight as to why they 

were measuring their waste for the week. On the final day of their first weigh 

week, a school assembly was held with the participating classes using the Biggest 

Reducer program. This program was shared via Prezi, which is accessible for 

any facility to use. The presentation teaches the principles of waste reduction 

including how to create a zero waste lunch and ways to expand waste reduction to 

a community level such as food donation programs and anaerobic food digestion 

facilities. All participating students were then given a Wrap-N-Mat reusable sandwich wrap to replace at least one disposable plastic bag (Figure 4). 

A parent letter was sent home explaining the program’s purpose and providing 

waste reduction suggestions and tips. Students were encouraged to practice 

their new waste reduction skills while they continued recording their waste the 

following week. This was then compared to the first week to see the amount of 

waste reduced. To tell if students were maintaining the waste reduction principles 

over time, they were then given a follow-up spot check on a randomly selected day 

several weeks after their initial participation. The spot check day was weighted 

at 50% of the overall reduction comparison due to the importance of continuing 

waste reduction practices beyond when they knew they were being monitored.

Figure 2 (above left). Biggest Reducer Log

Figure 3 (above right). Students at Ralph Williams

Elementary weighing waste produced during one lunch 

period

Figure 4. Student reducing plastic bags by using the 

Wrap-N-Mat given during program
Volume XXXII, Issue 1 Page 31

© 2016 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Results

While the majority of classes saw an overall reduction of waste of up to 54% on 

the second week, surprisingly two of the classes had an increase in waste, with 

one as high as 72% (Figure 5). The teacher of Class 1 with a 26% increase attributed this to several less popular menu items being served during that week. The 

data suggests this is true as Class 1 saw a 642% increase in food waste from week 

one to two. Interestingly, the same class was the only class to reduce its trash by 

100% with zero pounds of trash the second week; however, they increased their 

recyclables by 142%. When compared with the spot check day, Class 1 still maintained zero pounds of trash and had a reduction of 72% recyclables and 67% food 

waste. Class 3 with a 72% overall increase from week one to two, surprisingly 

showed a negligible increase in food waste but had a 226% increase in recyclables 

and a 318% increase in trash from week one to two. They improved considerably 

by their spot check with an 84% decrease in recyclables, 99% decrease in food waste, and 86% decrease 

in trash as compared to week 1. Overall an average of 

50% waste reduction was seen between all the classes 

with an average daily reduction of 2246 pounds 

of waste. The EPA estimates one pound of waste 

produces 0.94 pounds of CO2; therefore, it can be 

estimated that 2111 pounds of CO2 was reduced daily. 

The category makeup of the waste changed after the 

educational presentation as well (Figure 6). Before 

the Biggest Reducer program was implemented, 60% 

of the waste was trash. After the presentation, the 

percentage of trash dropped to around 50%. A slight increase in recycling was seen, though due 

to the light weight nature of most recyclable materials the actual volume may have been more. 

Teachers reported that the students were most surprised to see the amount of food that was thrown 

away with their lunch. 

Conclusion

When planning The Biggest Reducer, it was hypothesized that at least a 15% reduction in overall 

waste would be seen. The program was considered a resounding success when over three times that 

goal was reached. Since concluding The Biggest Reducer, new schools have asked to participate in 

Biggest Reducer Resources

Biggest Reducer Presentation 

Prezi presentation teaching waste reduction 

principals created by Brevard County Parks & 

Recreation: http://prezi.com/3lyacobtnd4z/?utm

campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Biggest Reducer Resources

Biggest Reducer Data Sheets and Parent 

Support Letter created by Brevard County 

Parks & Recreation as well as supplemental 

materials: https://goo.gl/bAZI5

Figure 5 (above). Percentage

of waste reduced between five 

classes participating in the 

Biggest Reducer

Figure 6 (below). Percentage of

waste by category compared by 

week and random spot check day
Page 32 The Earth Scientist

© 2016 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

the program the following year. The program was also presented at the 2015 

Florida Marine Science Educators Association annual conference. All the 

resources were shared with a packed session allowing them to implement it 

at their own facilities.

References

1

 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5305W) EPA-530-H-05-002 http://www3.

epa.gov/epawaste/education/lunch.htm (Accessed November 18, 2015)

2

United States Department of Agriculture. US Food Waste Challenge FAQ’s. http://

www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/faqs.htm (Accessed November 18, 2015)

3

Environmental Protection Agency. Municipal Solid Waste http://www3.epa.gov/

epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/ (Accessed November 18, 2015)

4

United States Environmental Protection Agency. Turning Food Waste into Energy 

at the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). http://www3.epa.gov/

region9/waste/features/foodtoenergy/index.html (Accessed November 18, 

2015)

5

Environmental Protection Agency. Food Waste Management Cost Calculator 

Webinar http://www3.epa.gov/region5/waste/solidwaste/compost/pdfs/

foodwaste-newman-201006-landfilldata.pdf (Accessed November 18, 2015)

About the Author

Brandon Smith is the Environmental Program 

Supervisor for Brevard County Parks and 

Recreation at Riverwalk Nature Center in 

Rockledge, FL. For 15 years, he has taught and

designed environmental education programs 

mainly focused on the Indian River Lagoon 

estuary. He has served on the boards of the

Florida Marine Science Educators Association, 

Space Coast Science Education Alliance, Sea 

Turtle Preservation Society, and Friends of the 

Carr Refuge. He has also had an active role in

the National Network for Ocean and Climate 

Change Interpretation, NOAA Climate Stewards 

Education Project, and the Florida Master 

Naturalist Program. He has a Bachelor’s degree

in Marine Biology from the Florida Institute of 

Technology in Melbourne, Florida. Brandon can

be reached at brandon.smith@brevardpark

com

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