Why start a school composting program?

1. School Composting Why start a school composting program? Schools can help the environment by: • Reducing the waste stream through diversion • Recycling natural resources • Educate the community about the benefits of composting • Create a useful product to be used in school gardens & landscape projects

2. School Composting Why start a school composting program? By Composting, children can do more than just sending cans and paper off to be recycled…. They experience the entire cycle of recycling; from “yucky” food scraps and other organic wastes to something that is pleasant to handle and is good for the soil.

3. School Composting Getting started: First, there has to be interest from students, teachers, administration, or the community. Depending on the extent of the project, you may have to have commitments from the Board of Education, the administration, teachers, students, kitchen staff, facilities staff and your town administration.

4. School Composting

5. School Composting Decide the extent of a composting program: • An environmental club project • A pilot worm bin project in one classroom • A pilot project in one district school • An all-out district wide program

6. School Composting Environmental Club Project: This is a good way to start. These students are already dedicated to environmental issues and you won’t have to “sell” the program to them. The club can be in charge of collecting kitchen prep scraps and getting them to outside compost units. They would be instructed in how to weigh the scraps, balance their compost pile, determine the moisture content and aeration of the pile. If the project reaches beyond kitchen scraps to cafeteria food waste, these students can make signage and give directions to the other students about proper food separation.

7. School Composting A Single School Project: Needs mandatory cooperation of all involved parties. It is best to purchase several closed black plastic bins that will be conveniently located outside the cafeteria. Project can be done using just kitchen prep scraps…or can involve proper separation of cafeteria food waste. The science classrooms can have a rotating schedule for collecting the scraps and maintaining the bins.

8. School Composting District-wide Program: Some districts insist that there be conformity in all schools; therefore if a compost program is started in one school, it will be followed in all schools. Each school would have to be evaluated for their needs: What is to be composted: Kitchen prep scraps or cafeteria scraps? How many compost units will be needed? Who will be in charge of carrying out the program in each school?

9. School Composting A Classroom Worm Bin Project: This can easily be integrated into several different areas of science. Worm Biology Soil Studies Environment/ Carbon Reduction Plant Studies Worm bins are self-contained and allow a close up look at the decomposition process. The students can build the bin or use a ready-made unit. Food waste can be brought in from the cafeteria; either prep scraps or limited fruit & vegetable leftovers.

10. School Composting The Basics of Vermicomposting: Vermicomposting is the process of using worms to process organic food waste into nutrient rich soil. Either build a bin or purchase a ready-made bin* Decide on a location for the bin- NEVER in a sunny window! Prepare bedding for your worms. This can be shredded office paper, coconut fiber, shredded cardboard or black & white newpaper strips.

11. School Composting The Basics of Vermicomposting: Fluff the bedding and slowly add water until thoroughly moist but not too “soupy”. Add red worms; usually about one pound (1,000 worms)* Begin to add food in one corner of the bin under 1” of bedding . Do not add more food until you see that the original food has disappeared. Harvest the worm castings when bedding beg

12. School Composting What goes in the pile? In building a compost pile, you are speeding up the natural process of decomposition. Whether it is a hot or cold pile, just the fact that you are providing a mixture of carbon and nitrogen materials means that you will get finished compost quicker than if left to nature.

13. School Composting A Sample “Recipe” 6 parts Dry Leaves Browns 3 parts Food Scraps Greens 3 parts Fresh Grass Clippings Greens ADD: Rainwater and an occasional turning

14. School Composting Why start a school composting program? Schools can help the environment by: • Reducing the waste stream through diversion • Recycling natural resources • Educate the community about the benefits of composting • Create a useful product to be used in landscape projects

15. School Composting DO NOT COMPOST: MEAT FAT BONES POULTRY FISH DAIRY PRODUCTS

16. Who does the work?

17. School Composting TYPES OF COMPOST UNITS:

18. School Composting No matter which program or what type of bin is used, there are two things that need to be addressed: The end-use for the finished compost The evaluation of the program

19. School Composting Using the Finished Compost: First, determine if the compost is finished through testing. This can be done through your local Rutgers extension service or sometimes through a college program. Have a plan in place before the compost is ready to use. It makes a great soil amendment for just about any type of garden…or, you can carry the environmental process a step further like I did and use the humus for the creation of native wildlife habitat gardens and / or vegetable gardens. In the case of the wildlife gardens, you are then not only reducing waste, but adding beneficial habitat that has been lost through development.

20. School Composting Using the Finished Compost:

21. School Composting Using the Finished Compost:

22. School Composting Evaluating the program: Ask for feedback on a regular basis. Address problems as they appear rather than letting them accumulate. • Is the daily processing of food scraps running smoothly? • How are the bins holding up? • Is the staff and student rotation for duties working out? • What is the general consensus about the program? • What adjustments need to be made?

23. School Composting Consider Further Food Waste Diversion…. If you are in or near a rural area, there may be pig farmers that collect food waste from local restaurants and groceries. There are school districts that utilize their services. In many parts of New Jersey, there are commercial compost companies that will collect food waste that would have been destined for the landfill. We have Agchoice, Converted Organics and Terracycle that make organic fertilizers and Trenton Fuel Works that is soon going to process food waste into biodiesel.

24. CREATING A HOME COMPOSTING PROGRAM Bringing it Home... Once you have established a composting program in your school system, you should then think about taking this idea to your local recycling coordinator or green team to promote a home composting program for your town. Composting at home REDUCES one’s personal volume of trash, conserves water, increases plant growth and replaces the need for harsh chemical fertilizers & pesticides. It will also help to reduce your town’s carbon footprint by keeping food and the methane that it will produce out of the landfill and by reducing or eliminating petro-chemical fertilizers.

25. 30%of our U.S. household trash is yard clippings & kitchen scraps.

26. CREATING A HOME COMPOSTING PROGRAM Bringing it Home... Residential composting provides proper, chemical-free nutrients for plants. Residents will conserve water, reduce their carbon footprint and they can provide valuable habitat for local wildlfe.

27. CREATING A HOME COMPOSTING PROGRAM Bringing it Home... Home Composting Demonstration Site… Ideally, a site on the municipal property can be set aside, even if it is small, to display a few types of composters that are available. If space allows, a native plant garden can also be installed to show an end use for the finished compost and to create interest in habitat gardening.

28. CREATING A HOME COMPOSTING PROGRAM Bringing it Home... Home Composting Demonstration Site… Having a home composting site provides a setting for workshops for residents of your town. If local hardware stores or garden centers sell composters, they may be willing to donate a unit from their stock to the town’s demonstration site in exchange for publicity for their store. The site should also show at least 2 types of homemade units. Plans are available online. You may suggest making a connection to sell one or two types of composters at cost to the town’s residents

29. CREATING A HOME COMPOSTING PROGRAM Bringing it Home...

30. CREATING A HOME COMPOSTING PROGRAM Bringing it Home...

31. CREATING A HOME COMPOSTING PROGRAM Bringing it Home... Workshops… Encourage your municipal contact to advertise and hold periodic workshops for residents. Workshops should include basic compost information, possibly the showing of a short video, and, if there is a demonstration site available; a walk-through to explain the various types of units available.

32. School Composting Sources: School Composting Manual for Connecticut Schools www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/compost/compost_pdf/schmanual.pdf Cornell Composting http://compost.css.cornell.edu The Worm Caféavailable through Flower Press The Worm Guide www.clwmb.ca.gov/Schools/Curriculum/Worms/