November 23, 2008 - 5:01pm — GreenTeensJessie
The Compost Caf. Project
The Compost Caf. Project
The Compost Caf. Project was initiated by the Green Teens in the Spring of 2008, but is now just getting started. The goal of the project is to transform the E.O. Smith Cafeteria (and then spread the project to other schools) into a compost production center rather than a wasteful lunch room. Currently, our high school uses mostly Styrofoam and plastic in the cafeteria, and it all gets thrown out, the Green Teens are about to change that!
How will we go about ensure that our cafeteria takes steps towards becoming zero waste?
1. First we will create a compost bin at our school’s land lab (down the street). Compost will be trucked here roughly one to two times per week (dependent on weather, temperature, etc.)
2. The compost will be initiated into the cafeteria in 3 phases. First, we will place bins in the kitchen. We will ask the food service department to place all spare foodscraps in the bins, instead of the garbage. Next, we will introduce the bins into our high school’s cafeteria, starting with the smallest lunch section (second lunch). After a few weeks we will perform a waste analysis. If we need to continue focusing on only second lunch, than so be it; however, if at all possible we will enter the third phase of lunch composting, launching the project in the two other lunches.
3. We will continue to perform routine waste analyses, by checking what is inside the compost bins we will be able to see what we must advocate for/restrict.
4. The compost will be brought down to the pile, first by club members & families, then by volunteers.
5. The compost will be turned as instructed to ensure high quality, all natural soil is produced!
6. As soon as the composting phase of the project has become routine, Green Teens will work with the school to purchase environmentally friendly, biodegradable napkins, plates, and trays. Since the new lunch-ware will be made out of vegetable starches, they will also be thrown directly into the compost pile.
7. Green Teens will purchase metal forks, spoons, knives and bowls for the school. Though E. O. Smith High School’s cafeteria was not built to wash dishes, the staff feels as though they can manage to clean these objects.
8. Once the project is established in the high school (estimated: 1 school year), leftover money designated for The Compost Caf. Project will be used to implement the project into other area schools!
Benefits of the Project:
-Increased environmental awareness throughout the student and faculty bodies
-Close to zero-waste cafeteria setting
-Compost will go back to the school (Agriculture Dept., Science Dept., etc.)
-School will no longer have to pay for shipments of plastic forks, spoons, knives, and bowls.
-Less waste for garbage company to truck away
-Initial expense to build compost & purchase lunch-ware, after that relatively low cost project.
Why Give Us Your Vote?:
Though this project will sustain itself at a relatively low cost, it will be quite expensive initially. Building an efficient compost pile will cost $300+ dollars. We will spend a total of about $79.90 on small compost bins for the cafeteria and transportation. Each day the compost must be emptied into a larger bin for storage, this will cost about $140 (in order to be air tight and meet the high school’s requirements). Green Teens will then need to purchase the initial lunch-ware (plates, trays, napkins, etc.) totaling about $1614.09. The club will purchase the primary reusable lunch materials to use almost like prototypes in the cafeteria, all together (assuming about 50% of students purchase some form of lunch) we assume these supplies will last about 3 weeks. After these initial purchases, we will help the school set up a program to purchase environmental lunch ware. Next, the club will have to purchase all metal flatware and bowls. This will cost an estimated total of $618.40. When other factors such as shipping & handling are factored in we assume the project will total just under $3000 for our school alone (this is just an estimate—we must allow extra money for cushioning). We will not entirely pay for other school’s who wish to adopt The Compost Caf. Project into their system and it is important to note that some schools may already use reusable lunch ware. We will, however, help fund schools who need help initiating the project/creating a compost as long as they promise to keep Green Teens updated on the project. Your votes can make high schools across the community, state, and hopefully, one day, nation truly become green! The high school cafeteria is a great place to both socialize and learn, by implementing The Compost Caf. Project into the daily values of the cafeteria the concept of environmentalism will reach students that it normally would not have reached (& for decades to come)!
Motivation: One isparation for Green Teens and The Compost Caf. Project was when we found out that our school burns most of its garbage. The group initially aimed to replace just Styrofoam with biodegradable materials, but learned that this will have little benefit due to the process of incineration. The group also learned that an area elementary school has been composting for a number of years, and with great success. The school even sells some of the soil to parents as a fund raiser. Green Teens realized that we could eliminate a lot of our school's waste in a productive way, creating new, nutrient-rich soil for the use of our school's Agriculture and Science Departments. Though, unlike the elementary schools in the area, our school was not built to wash or re-use much of anything, Green Teens realized that with a little creativity this could be changed fairly easily. The school agreed to wash flatware and bowls as long as Green Teens helped provide them. Once the group found an approved location for a compost bin at our school's "Land Lab", we realized The Compost Caf. Project could easily succeed at E. O. Smith High School—and hopefully at other schools as well!