<![CDATA[Plastic waste is a difficult environmental problem to address, and school cafeterias, which often use single-use plastics, contribute to this problem. However, many schools have not yet implemented sustainable practices, and students are often limited to theoretical learning that rarely links scientific concepts to real-world environmental issues. Therefore, this study aims to examine the improvement in junior high school students’ integrative knowledge and sustainability actions through a STEM-ESD project on plastic waste. A non-equivalent pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used, involving 62 seventh-grade students from a junior high school in Cikarang, Indonesia. Data resulted that the experimental class achieved a moderate increase in integrative knowledge (N-Gain = 0.32), while the control class showed low improvement (N-Gain = 0.20). However, both groups showed a small increase in sustainability action (N-Gain = 0.00), with no significant difference between them. These findings suggest that while STEM-ESD projects effectively develop students’ ability to integrate scientific concepts with environmental issues, they are insufficient for driving significant behavioral change within a short timeframe. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on STEM-ESD implementation in Indonesian schools and highlights the need for sustained, long-term interventions to achieve meaningful sustainability outcomes.]]>
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