In early September, Marblehead High School students were educated on the importance of composting. Now early November, students have been disposing of their food waste in composting containers for more than two months.
The program’s success is very much dependent on the students and whether they volunteer to empty the bins each day, or if they throw non-compostable items into the bins. However, the program is not completely student run. Michelle Gottlieb, Board of Health member, and Andrew Petty, Board of Health director, sustain the program through monetary support from the Board of Health. If not for this support, the program would be unable to afford essential materials such as bags to put in the composting containers. Without bags, people cannot dispose of their food waste, as shown by the spotty coverage of composting over the last few weeks.
Recently the bins have not always been in the cafeteria, forcing students to dispose of their food waste in the trash can. This can be traced back to the bag issue. The program did not realize how often they would need to stock their bag supply, so by the time they ordered more bags, they had already run out of their existing supply. Until the bags were restocked, students couldn’t compost at the school.
Many may believe that the program is adult mandated, but when the students couldn’t compost, they cared. “Where am I supposed to compost my sandwich?” one student can be quoted saying. Others weren’t even aware of the composting bins in the first place, or wish they were more accessible. “I just use the trashcan closest to the tables,” says another student.
Despite the flaws in the program, the students have done a great job in the pilot year of the program. “We had tried to implement composting a handful of times but it never worked,” said composting club advisor Connor Ryan, crediting the success of this attempt to the students. “The students were involved and followed through with what they wanted to see happen.”
It is clear that the program’s future is still up to the students, and not only those who volunteer. If anyone has suggestions for the program, they should contact Connor Ryan. After all, it is important to make sure that composting is running as smoothly as possible, if not for the school’s benefit than for the planet’s.