By Tara Bicknell
Waste from the Haines School cafeteria could end up in the
school garden next spring, and it won’t be litter. Last week, the school started a
composting program that will turn unwanted food scraps into rich, soil-like compost.
“There was some interest from the community for composting
lunch scraps at the school,” said Pam Randles, leading a project that’s expected
to lower trash bills and enrich school gardens.
The program adds a new bin to the lunchroom, and students are
asked to separate compostable and non-compostable scraps. They’re still adjusting to
the new routine.
Last week, seventh-grader Polly Bryant threw plastic wrap and a
brown paper bag into the compost barrel before quickly grabbing them and throwing them
into a separate, adjacent container for non-compostables.
“It’s a little hard to remember to (separate waste),
but other than that, it’s cool. It’s better for the school,” Bryant said.
Adult and student volunteers have been standing by refuse barrels during recent lunches,
helping remind students of the change.
Sixth-graders were charged with visiting classrooms in the
elementary school, explaining the program. Some students are reluctant to make the change,
said sixth grader Clay Gardner.
“Some people really don’t want to do it. They dump it
in and ignore us, but half are all right about it. They want to know how it works,”
Gardner said.
Composting works by combining carbon-rich material such as
straw, paper and cardboard, with materials that contain nitrogen, like soft plant
clippings and kitchen scraps. With a balanced mix of carbon, nitrogen, air and moisture,
microorganisms break down the material, generating heat which causes decomposition.
“We don’t know the mixture, we don’t know how
long it will take, but we’re going to find out,” Randles said. In the first
week, the program was collecting about 25 pounds of food scraps per day.
“We were trying not to make extra work for the kitchen
staff,” Randles explained. “The composting bins are located right outside the
kitchen.”
Haines Friends of Recycling donated two composting bins that
will go outside the school. The Haines School provided materials, and the wood shop class
will provide carbon-rich wood shavings.
“The kids are quite interested in it,” Randles said.
“They study about decomposition and natural processes in school. For the kids, this is something tangible and real.
And it has a good gross factor. Kids like gross.”
Randles hopes the project also will reduce the cost of school
landscaping.
“The price of fuel going up means the price of freight goes
up. A lot of people are taking it [composting] seriously now that it makes more sense,”
said Randles.
Anyone interested in helping out should contact Randles at
766-3664.
.
