Well... we try.
Each class produces about a garbage can of paper towels from hand-washing each week, plus leftover lunch food scraps. The school gardens provide green waste and families bring in manure to help round it out. Our three-bin system is handy for students, but requires watering and mixing and regular care.
With funds from a Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots Grant, we asked grades 3-4 students how we could do better. Here are some of their suggestions:
And here are a few more:
And here are letters written to the School Board of Trustees asking for help:
And now the students will be presenting to the Board Climate Committee on June 23rd to describe their composting recommendations. Yahoo!
In the meantime, we've purchased some washcloths made from recycled fibers for a pilot project this fall to avoid using as many paper towels in the upper grades classes. We'll see how it goes!
Then, we'll plan to repair the compost bins next year, mount a white board for compost tracking, and get all the tools lined up so that we can have an even more successful 2021-22 schoolyear in learning to make good garden soil and compost our waste. Amen to that!