This document provides guidance on establishing a food waste composting program in schools. It discusses selecting a location for compost bins, gathering necessary materials like leaves and wood chips, constructing bins, and setting up a food scrap collection system from the cafeteria. Proper techniques for layering materials in bins and monitoring the composting process are also outlined. The goal is to help schools divert food waste from the trash and turn it into a useful compost material.
122. Check Internet or phone book for farm listings, farm organizations, farms that raise chickens or pigs, have digesters for energy production, or have on-site composting
A suitable composting system depends on: available off-site services (both processing & hauling); available on-site composting area; amount of food & yard waste generated; student body size & age; concerns with bears or other issues for on-site composting; & labor needs & availability. Options include:Using an off-site compost facility (or animal feed or farm digester operation),on-site school composting using outside compost bins or pile, Vermicomposting (worm composting), & in-vessel composting, using a commercial system. Factors to consider when choosing a school compost system:Off-site composting options may be limited or hauling may not be available. On-site composting concerns - issues with bears or other critters. Custodial, parent, & student involvement? Is there enough dedication to manage an on-site composting operation? Consult other schools in the area or the local solid waste office to discuss options.
Some materials can be obtained for little or no cost, such as 5-gallon buckets for food scrap collection. Sponsors or grant funding may be available for other supplies & equipment. If an off-site compost operation will be used, work with the hauler to provide discount rates, especially if it is the same hauler collecting the school’s garbage & recyclables. Considering putting together a request for proposals to bid out services.
Phase in the project! Start with one lunch period a week or one class a week. Make sure the project is going well, there is plenty of help, etc. Then phase in additional lunch periods over the course of the school year.
See NERC’s cafeteria waste audit instructions (http://nerc.org/documents/waste_assessments_&_waste_audits.pdf)
Whether you compost organic materials on-site at the school or send them to an off-site compost facility, the process is essentially the same.
Composting requires a mix of food scraps (which are “nitrogen” or green materials) & carbon sources (“brown” materials), which include leaves, straw, paper, etc. It is important to start gathering carbon sources before starting the actual collection of food scraps.For proper composting you will need enough leaves or other carbon sources for a 60:40 ratio of carbon to nitrogen. In other words, about 2/3 of your compost pile will need to be comprised of leaves or carbon sources.
Piles or Windrows (an elongated pile) need to be at least 3 feet wide by 3 feet high by 3 feet long in order for the materials to heat up for proper composting.
Instruct students in proper lifting/hauling techniques for transporting the full compost collection containers to the compost area.
Compost collection should continue through the winter. Plan on a compost site that can be cleared of snow for easy access to the bins. Covering the bins (or pile) with a tarp will make it easier to open the bins.
Covering the food scraps with carbon sources each time they are emptied into the bin or pile is essential. This helps to ensure that the compost process will work & helps to keep critters from smelling the food.If bugs or critters become a problem, cover the food with a layer of agricultural lime in addition to the carbon sources. Agricultural lime can be purchased at a garden center. Keep it in a bucket (with a lid) next to the compost pile, use a scoop to pour it onto the food scraps.
Start with high-carbon ingredients; follow with high-nitrogen materials. Next, sprinkle on a thin layer of soil or "finished compost" & a little water—then mix well! Do not compact materials in the pile or bin. Keeping compost ingredients loose allows more oxygen to circulate through the materials. Turn the composting material once a week or so to speed the composting process. This allows more air to filter through the pile or bin & exposes more material to the pile's feeding organisms. It may be easiest for students to mix materials on the ground first, & then shovel them into the bin.After several weeks, a good mixing of materials inside the bin/pile as new materials are added should be adequate, without a full turning. However, if the compost is not heating up or odor problems arise, the materials may need to be removed from the bin & turned. Compost piles (without a bin for containment) may need to be turned more often to maintain active composting.
To limit the frequency of turning, a perforated pipe can be placed on the bottom of the bin or pile to help provide aeration into the pile.
There is a solution to pretty much every compost problem. The key is to not give up, but to find the solution!
The Internet is full of instructional materials on using worms in classrooms.
Enough worm bins to handle the food scraps generated at this school during the year.
Worm compost bins can be made out of a variety of materials. Here bins were constructed out of plastic irrigation pipe.
Plastic tubs are inexpensive & are excellent for classroom bins.Wooden box bins can be easily constructed for use either indoors or outdoors. Outside Worm Bin: A wooden bin approximately 1.5 feet high x 2 feet long x 3.5 feet wide is a good size. If the entire school’s food scraps are to be collected & fed to the worms, several bins will likely need to be constructed. Make two or three rows of quarter-inch holes on all sides for air, plus drain holes near the bottom. Worm bins can also be built into the ground using scrap lumber or cinder blocks. Outside worm bins will need to be insulated from both the heat & the cold. Consult NERC for worm bin construction & insulation information.
Worm Bedding: Enough torn cardboard to fill the bin about half-way full, loose & dry. Shredded cardboard should be 1-2 inches in size. Also needed—garden soil (not potting soil), finished compost, or s&, about one cup per bin. Worms need soil or s& to aid in their digestion.Also have a crushed egg shell (empty of contents).Moisture: Water & a spray bottle (like the kind used for plants), as well as a bucket or tub will be needed. Worms must be kept moist at all times. All areas of the worm bin & bedding should be kept moist. Water should not puddle in the bin, however. Worms breathe through their skin & require moisture to do this….if they are not kept moist, they die! However, if soaking in water they will drown.
Yes, worms eat paper as well as vegetables!
See NERC’s Cafeteria Food Waste Reduction Tip Sheet - http://nerc.org/documents/index.html#SchoolWaste.
