Kids love toys, but they don’t love the packaging toys come in – especially when the toys are encased in hard-to-open plastic.

Three students at Whitby School are encouraging their classmates and friends to S.T.O.P. and think this holiday season about toy packaging – or overpackaging. S.T.O.P. is an acronym for Stop Toymaker Over-Packaging.

Jacob Beuhler, Cole Peterson and Andrew Stern are second grade students at Whitby School in Greenwich. After seeing a presentation on recycling last year, the three were moved to try to do something about what they saw as excessive and unnecessary packaging of kids’ toys. Working together, the three recently developed a presentation to inform other Whitby School students about what happens when all that holiday toy garbage hits the local landfill.

The kids found out that one-tenth of the garbage thrown away in America is plastic and it takes more than 500 years to decompose. The three boys did research by shopping local and chain toys stores and observing all of the excess plastic that toys are packaged in. The boys said their research revealed the largest toy manufacturers like Mattel and Hasbro are producing toys in excessive and unnecessary packaging and marketing the products to children. The boys are starting a letter-writing campaign to the major toy manufacturers to encourage the companies to package toys in a more environmentally friendly package and are hoping their presentation to their schoolmates will encourage them to also ask toy manufacturers to stop toymaker overpackaging.