With Heritage’s recent efforts to encourage sustainability, the school has made many changes on campus in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint. However, while the school has more sustainable forms of utensils and to-go food containers which are biodegradable, the waste still ends up in the landfill.
Materials like paper and food waste can’t always be recycled in the same ways as plastic, and it ultimately ends up in the landfill. Because organic materials originate from the Earth, the most sustainable form of eliminating the waste would be to put them back into the Earth through composting.
Compost is any form of organic decaying matter that breaks down naturally within the soil, creating a nutrient-dense fertilizer. Because a compost pile is made up of mostly food and other forms of organic waste, it is one of the easiest ways of reducing food waste and giving back to the planet.
Although Heritage used to compost, it does not anymore. Previously, Dr. Julia Couper, chemistry teacher and sponsor of Healthy Heritage, and her club tried to compost with scraps collected from lower school lunch. However, students would place non-compostable items within the buckets. “There were two big problems with the system,” said Dr. Couper. “Students did not know what should go in the buckets, and the cleaning crew didn’t realize the buckets were intended for compost so the buckets eventually made their way to the trash.”
To ensure that students are placing their waste in the correct bins, the school could provide either an assembly or an informational video, teaching students how to compost both on and off campus and why it is important. “We need education first,” said Dr. Couper. “Without an understanding of the importance and the process of composting, people are less likely to participate.” The more students understand why it’s important to compost and the benefits, the more likely they will be to practice sustainable habits off campus. Making the compost collection easy and encouraging the whole school to participate will encourage many to contribute as well.
If Heritage implemented the practice of composting on campus, it would have to be monitored correctly. Even if students are educated on how to compost, each bin would still have to be monitored by a member of the maintenance staff because the food scraps do need to be emptied frequently (every 1-4 days) to reduce smell. According to Dr. Couper, the school could also look into trench composting. Because trench composting requires the scraps to be buried directly into the garden, it would prevent the need for waiting for the scraps to become completely composted and having to perform additional steps afterward–– like harvesting it from the bin. The inaccessibility of the buried compost would also reduce both student and animal contact.
Adding composting bins would create a greener campus environment. According to CalRecycle from the California state government, composting prevents the release of methane because it allows the material to decompose in the presence of free oxygen, which is crucial for their natural breakdown. However, as landfills continue to pile up, the organic matter cannot decompose effectively. The tightly packed environments prevent free oxygen from breaking the molecules apart and allowing for biodegradation, resulting in the production of methane gas.
Heritage should have composting bins on campus because it not only creates a greener environment by sustainably eliminating campus waste, but also decreases the carbon footprint of the school as a whole.
