By the Brackett Green Initiatives Group
Background
The Proposed Composting Program at Brackett Elementary has evolved out of our care for the Earth in general, and our desire to do something as a community to contribute to its ecological balance rather than to add to the problem-causing amount of waste and pollution. In looking at our practices at school we found that the biggest impact could be made in the lunch room where up to 85% of the waste generated each day could relatively easily be reduced.
While 15% of that waste can be diverted to recycling, our larger concern is the 70% which constitutes the amount of uneaten food that accumulates in the school lunchroom and is thrown into the dumpster each day. On average the number is 50 pounds per day (not including liquids) or 250 pounds per week. That’s about 4 tons of food scraps being hauled just from Brackett Elementary to the municipal waste incinerator each year!
Composting is the natural way to divert that tonnage from the waste stream and return it to the earth by converting it to nutrient-rich soil.
How Does It Work?
Using the process of decomposition, composting turns the food scraps into soil that is rich in plant nutrients. The food scraps (nitrogen) are mixed with dried leaves and shredded paper (carbon). Ensuring proper moisture and aeration encourages the beneficial micro-organisms to do their job in breaking down the material. These micro-organisms manage the chemical process by converting the inputs into heat, carbon dioxide and ammonium which is further converted by nitrification into plant-nourishing elements.
Description of Proposed Operation
The Green Initiatives Group has spent a great deal of time researching the topic, speaking with experts in the field, and visiting other sites to educate ourselves on the subject in order to make our best informed effort as we initiate this project. We are at the beginning of the implementation phase and will work hard to figure out what works for Brackett.
To get the process started at Brackett, we have a committed group willing and able to operate the program from Earth Day to the end of the school year. There will be a volunteer available each day to be at the school lunchroom at the end of the lunch period to take care of and ensure clean composting operations.
Materials and Procedure
We are proposing to remove the food scraps, excluding meat and dairy, each day after the lunch sessions and put them into sealed bins called compost tumblers. The models we have selected are dual-chamber, heavy duty black plastic with locking doors. Each time the food scraps are added we will also add double the volume of “browns”-These will be a stock most likely dried leaves from yard clean-ups. Then the chamber door is locked and the bin is spun on its axis to mix the ingredients.
The process is repeated each day until the bin reaches capacity. We imagine it will take a single week. At that point, we leave that chamber to “cook”, continuing to turn once or twice a week, while we move on to fill the next bin. And so on. When all the bins have been filled we will go back to the original one to empty it and sift the contents through a 1/8” to ½” sieve into a wheelbarrow. The finished product will be a fresh natural fertilizer that can be used to place around the base of ornamental shrubs and trees on the school grounds and in the neighborhood.
Location
We are proposing a location for the initial operation just outside the lunchroom terrace which will be easily accessible but at the same time out of the way. We will start with three tumblers for a total of 6 chambers plus a large covered bin for leaves.
Prevention of Nuisance Conditions
We are very aware that there may be some concerns about unpleasant odors that attract undesired creatures to the school. The fact is that, unlike garbage, compost, when managed well, should not have any offending odors. The trick is to have the right balance of carbon to nitrogen with the right amount of moisture. We will work hard to create the conditions necessary to have a well managed operation that avoids those issues.
Regulations
According to the definitions set forth by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the scale of our proposed operation is considered small and therefore exempt from any regulations. We were required to submit our plan of operation for notification 30 days prior to commencing operations to both the DEP and local Board of Health which we did at the beginning of March. We have received no comment thus far. We also sent a courtesy letter to the School Superintendant informing her of our intentions and asking for comment a week prior to mailing the formal notice to DEP and BOH.
Looking Ahead
All composting programs must really be site-specific and custom designed to be successful. As mentioned before, we are at the beginning of the implementation phase and still have much to learn by continuing to consult with those more experienced and by trial and error in the course of making the compost. Things will most likely change over time, but we have to start somewhere.
There is a very large amount of interest in what we are doing already expressed by people of the town, the Recycling Committee, Sustainable Arlington, Vision 20/20, Student groups at Arlington High school and parents from other schools. People are looking to us to see how we do it, and if we succeed to see how such a program can be replicated . The Green Initiatives Group is committed to making our best effort to see that a composting program does succeed at Brackett and with hope can become a model for other schools.
