Compost

Compostable food must be separated from trash and non-compostable food items. 
In the cafeteria, the correct compostable food items on the menu are posted so students can see what they need to separate out. Using hands or a spatula, the food is taken off the trays or out of lunchboxes and put into the large green compost bin that is lined with a biodegradable plastic liner.

Every day, 3rd grade students bring the day's compost to an industrial strength scale to weigh and record how much food is being compost.

 

Numbers vary, but range between 5 and 80 pounds per day. 

 

 

To date, we have composted over 2200 pounds of food.

Every day we bring the compost to "Bay 1" where the food is chopped up into tiny pieces so that bacteria and macroinvertebrates will have an easier time decomposing it.

 

With such a large and sprawling campus, 3rd graders are tasked with moving the compost around between buildings, and finally out to the outdoor bins.

Once a year, third grade works together to collect leaves from all around campus to fill up our "browns bin"

 

 

 

 

Whenever we add more food to bay 1, we always mix in dry brown leaves. 
Fresh food waste is high in nitrogen, and old leaves are high in carbon. The correct ratio between the two helps ensure healthy, well-balanced compost.

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