Student focused project in waste reduction and community development

1. Coastal Community Compost
Project @ the
Long Beach Island Consolidated
School District
Angela C. Andersen
Long Beach Township Recycling Coordinator and
Co –author of State Farm Grant

2. Rocket Composter landed at
EJ 2012
 LBI Consolidated School District received a service
learning grant from State Farm Youth Advisory Board in
2011 in the amount of $28,500
 Purchase Rocket Compost unit
 Purchase/ install fence , modify electric and purchase
carts, buckets and tarps
 Partners in Grant Writing: LBICSD Teacher /LBT
Recycling & Clean Communities Coordinator
 Goal:Student focused project in waste reduction and
community development

3. What is the rocket
composter?

4. Coastal Community
Composting vision
 Short Term goal:
Integrate food waste separation/compost within the
school/cafeteria ( and single stream recycling-it’s the
law)
 Long Term Goal: Expand to families, residents,
community ( take food scraps- provide compost)
 Extension of the vegetable garden development, rain
garden installations and fitness clusters

5. Food Waste- the next
frontier

6. What is Compost?
 COMPOSTING: the process of turning once living organic
matter into rich soil
 food/yard waste> soil enhancer
 Finished compost is dark brown, crumbly, and smells
like a forest floor
 40% of waste to the landfill is organic ( food, yard)

7. Ocean County Stats
 Ocean County Landfill, Corp. Solid Waste
 2010-
 Ranging from $ 71.21-$102.65 per ton
 Ocean County Single Stream Recycling
 2010 - 55,235 tons – saved $ 4 million in
tonnage fees
 Ocean County yard waste Compost
Brush- 7048.62 tons ( as of 11/30/11)
Leaves-9876.62 tons ( as of 11/30/11)

8. Single Stream-reduce –reuse-
recycle –success!

9. County “yard waste” composting-
everything but kitchen sink ! literally

10. County vs. Backyard vs.
Rocket Composting
 County: accepts leaves for composting and brush for
wood chips ( which will go in the Rocket)
 Backyard: Kitchen scraps veggie, fruit, coffee, tea, nuts
and yard trimmings ( no meat or bones)
 Rocket: food scraps including leftovers, plate scrapings,
meat, bones, eggs, bread, rice, kitchen scraps

11. Environmental, Educational
and Economic Benefits
 Reduces school food waste and the expense to haul it to landfill.
 Reduces “carbon footprint” (e.g., less garbage, so less trips to
landfills; e.g., fewer garbage trucks and pickups = less pollution)
 Reduces water use in gardens ( aerated healthy soil) which reduces
stormwater runoff
 Improves community recycling efforts- goal of 50% is not met in
ocean county
 Provides sustainability education and outreach to our students
and community members
 Enhances curriculum with real world learning of eco issues

12. Sustainable Community
Benefits of Compost
 Scraps from local restaurants- then have farm to table
dinners to benefit LBIPTA
 Compost use: ornamental shrubs at the school and at
community/municipal locations
 Benefits for the land and water: soil conditioner, a
fertilizer, a natural pesticide ( heartier plants)
Increases soil health and drainage, rainwater recharge and
runoff /erosion control**
-The LBI students were taught to separate food waste in the
cafeteria
-Parent volunteers signed up to help them separate food
-Signs were made to show what to what not to compost
-The County was on track to deliver wood chips

13. The kids and community
welcomed the new project

14. The teachers and staff were
taking notes

15. The launch was a success

16. Then…One month after the
launch

17. So now what….?
 Is the PTA willing to reintroduce the separation
volunteer list for the cafeteria
 Is the district willing to have cafeteria and custodial
staff reintroduce the project
 Is the board supportive of the short and long term vision
of reducing, reusing and recycling in the district
 Can the teachers integrate these concepts into
curriculum in the current climate
 How much will it cost to revamp project- if anything
 Is funding available- if so where
 If not how does the district give away its property?