How to Start a School Compost Program

Photo: Flickr/US Embassy New Zealand

Starting a school composting program is not just good for the environment – it reduces your school’s waste and carbon footprint – but it’s also a great biology lesson for students, demonstrating soil decomposition with a real-life experiment.

Yet the thought of setting up a school composting program from the ground up can be daunting, so we’ve created this how-to guide for parents, teachers, administrators and even students to turn their school’s food scraps into a new, useful product.

1. Get support from the top

First things first: You’ll want to obtain top-level support from the school administration.

To convince administrators to get behind the initiative, present all the benefits a composting program can bring to the school: It can save money by reducing garbage bills, produce a valuable fertilizer for school grounds, create educational activities for students and position the school as a leader in sustainability.

2. Champion the cause

Every new initiative needs a leader to help get the program started, rally support and see the idea through to implementation.

Create a steering committee or green team to champion the composting program, inviting members from all groups that will be involved in carrying out the new initiative: the administration, maintenance and kitchen staff, students, parents and teachers. Seeking input from these groups and addressing their concerns will go a long way towards making the program run more smoothly.

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3. Set up the infrastructure

Determine where to place collection containers for food scraps, usually right next to garbage and recycling bins, any where food scraps are generated: the cafeteria, kitchen, playground and teacher’s lounge. Check to see if your city or local waste management company provides collection containers for free or at discounted rates.

Make sure to clearly label bins, identifying what kinds of food scraps can and can’t go in the containers: Fruits and veggies are accepted, but not meat and dairy products, for example. Consider adding pictures to your signage to make the instructions easier to understand and more eye-catching.

4. Plan collection

To ensure your separated food scraps don’t just end up back in the garbage bin, you’ll need to figure out who will collect the food scrap collection containers – custodians or a group of designated students, for example – and how often they will be emptied.

If you’re adding composting collection to the schools custodian’s list of job duties, work with them to seamlessly incorporate the new responsibilities into their daily routine: picking up composting bins at the same time they service the garbage and recycling containers, for instance.