SACRAMENTO - Sacramento's Crocker/Riverside Elementary School is celebrating Earth Day in a different way this year. Students will commemorate the eco-friendly day by participating in a Zero Waste Lunch with actor and environmentalist, Ed Begley, Jr. The event is promoted by the California Department of Conservation (DOC), and Wastefreelunches.org, an organization committed to reducing the amount of lunch-related waste that ends up in landfills.

"The Zero Waste Lunch event will educate children about the importance of preserving the environment by preparing environmentally-friendly lunches," said Begley. "We want students and their parents to see how easy it is to prepare a waste-free lunch and to encourage them to make a conscious effort to eliminate packaging trash in the future."

According to recycling experts at Wastefreelunches.org, the average school-age child throws away 67 pounds of lunch waste per school year. Lunch waste is primarily made up of plastic sandwich bags, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, juice boxes, napkins, and more disposable materials. This translates into more than 18,500 pounds of lunch waste annually for one average-size elementary school such as Crocker/Riverside.

"Reducing the amount of packaging we use for lunches means less trash ends up in landfills," said DOC Director Bridgett Luther. "Also, families can save money by reducing or eliminating the amount of pre-packaged food they put in lunches, and will often end up with healthier lunches as an added bonus."

Days prior to the Zero Waste Lunch event, representatives from the DOC and Wastefreelunches.org conducted an informational assembly to educate students about how to properly prepare waste-free lunches and encourage them to participate in the school's Earth Day initiative. After the assembly, the students received eco-friendly reusable lunch kits to use during the Zero Waste Lunch event and in the future.

Begley will be on-hand to educate students about recycling and talk to them about his strong passion for the environment and the great strides he takes to save energy, such as arriving at a Hollywood red carpet event on a bicycle.