Sugar cane waste: A sweet deal for a bright Oklahoman

Most Americans know the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the administrative arm of the executive branch charged with regulating the emission of harmful pollutants to the benefit of our cherished environment and natural resources. Fewer Americans, though, recognize the National Environmental Education Foundation, a group chartered by Congress in 1990 to help the EPA foster environmental awareness and administer educational programs. As a complement to the regulatory work of the EPA, the NEEF has the ability to steer both private and government money to educate the public about leading environmentally responsible lives. The work of the NEEF is felt in classrooms throughout the country, and this year will be hitting closer to home, right here in Oklahoma.

One of the foundation’s key programs is Classroom Earth, a partnership with The Weather Channel geared toward developing environmental educational opportunities in American high schools. The program offers grants for students to take on community-oriented, environmentally conscious projects. One such grant is provided through Planet Connect, an online social community formed by the NEEF to bring students from across the country together to learn about environmental issues, careers, and other opportunities. Edmond Memorial High School student Sarah Reid has been awarded one of those grants. She’ll be working this spring to develop an innovative solution to an often overlooked problem and her efforts should make every Oklahoman proud.

Sarah, a junior, has taken aim at the polystyrene trays that her school uses in its cafeteria. Polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam, is a common material for such trays. Although it’s recyclable, it is not biodegradable, which Sarah’s not very comfortable with. Recognizing that most of the trays end up in landfills, hillsides, and waterways for 100 years or more, she will be introducing her fellow students to state-of-the-art trays as a replacement. For about a month, Edmond Memorial will use trays made from bagasse, a fiber derived from sugar cane, which is biodegradable and can be composted. During that month, Sarah will perform a feasibility study to determine if the school should continue to use the trays.

Sarah’s project is both forward-looking and smart for the environment. Bagasse comes from the stalks of sugar cane after they have been processed for their juice. For quite some time, bagasse was generally just disposed of as a waste product of sugar refining. These days the material, similar to wood pulp, is harvested and used to make products such as plates, bowls, cups, and the cafeteria trays that Sarah is introducing to her high school.

The commercial use of bagasse serves as a practical replacement for traditional wood pulp and so offsets the destruction of fragile forests. Sugar cane grows rapidly, making it an annually renewable material. Finally, refining bagasse requires less energy than refining traditional wood pulp, cutting down on the amount of electricity consumed and produced in the process.

The sort of ingenuity and resourcefulness that Sarah Reid has demonstrated is alive and well in this great state. She’s proving that with a little thoughtfulness, fighting for the environment is not only possible, but within the grasp of all of us. Sarah’s a great example of the ways Oklahomans can make a difference for the sake of our shared environment. Although she’s just starting her journey as an environmentally conscious individual, she’s raising the bar for her fellow citizens. Thanks for the inspiration, Sarah.

Jim Roth, a former Oklahoma corporation commissioner, is an attorney with Phillips Murrah P.C. in Oklahoma City, where his practice focuses on clean, green energy for Oklahoma.