Composting programs in ES

[Anonymous]

Do any MCPS ESs have a composting program in place, or food scrap collection with Key City Compost or Compost Crew? Curious to hear what the experience has been. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Compost Crew charges for their services. Maybe you can make a donation to pay for it.

[Anonymous]

All collection services charge in some way or another. It’s just a question of where the money comes from. In some cases, local governments will pay for this.

[Anonymous]

Yes! There are a number of MCPS ES and MS that are composting and it is going extremely well. Students love it and it’s easy for staff. Depending on size of school, it costs about $1800 per school year. If you’re interested, a MCPS student group called Compostology oversees the composting programs and can get it all set up at your school and can possibly help with partial funding as well.
See www.compostology.org and you can email them thru their site.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you so much!

[Anonymous]

What a waste of money!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a waste of money!

It does seem like that. Better off composting it on school grounds and using it for a garden. It looks to be a trendy thing students did to get into college. I don't get why you'd pay to compost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a waste of money!

It does seem like that. Better off composting it on school grounds and using it for a garden. It looks to be a trendy thing students did to get into college. I don't get why you'd pay to compost.

It's harder to set up on a large scale like with much fresh waste added daily as from an elementary school.

There is a skill to getting composting right, like keeping track of the carbon to nitrogen ratio of the inputs and aiming for the ideal ratio so the compost breaks down as quickly as it can but does not rot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a waste of money!

It does seem like that. Better off composting it on school grounds and using it for a garden. It looks to be a trendy thing students did to get into college. I don't get why you'd pay to compost.

It's harder to set up on a large scale like with much fresh waste added daily as from an elementary school.

There is a skill to getting composting right, like keeping track of the carbon to nitrogen ratio of the inputs and aiming for the ideal ratio so the compost breaks down as quickly as it can but does not rot.

It’s unnecessary waste! Send in DOGE!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a waste of money!

It does seem like that. Better off composting it on school grounds and using it for a garden. It looks to be a trendy thing students did to get into college. I don't get why you'd pay to compost.

It's harder to set up on a large scale like with much fresh waste added daily as from an elementary school.

There is a skill to getting composting right, like keeping track of the carbon to nitrogen ratio of the inputs and aiming for the ideal ratio so the compost breaks down as quickly as it can but does not rot.

Can you differentiate between rotting and breaking down? I home compost but do not put much effort into the ratio...still end up with dirt.

[Anonymous]

Great idea, OP!

Composting on school grounds would be more efficient but MCPS does not allow it.
Composting is the easiest and one of the most impactful way to make a difference in greenhouse gas emissions.
Eventually the cost for trash removal would go down because there isn’t that much trash to pick up anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a waste of money!

It does seem like that. Better off composting it on school grounds and using it for a garden. It looks to be a trendy thing students did to get into college. I don't get why you'd pay to compost.

It's harder to set up on a large scale like with much fresh waste added daily as from an elementary school.

There is a skill to getting composting right, like keeping track of the carbon to nitrogen ratio of the inputs and aiming for the ideal ratio so the compost breaks down as quickly as it can but does not rot.

It’s unnecessary waste! Send in DOGE!

Leon is on it!

[Anonymous]

Any MCPS schools already doing food scrap collection? Would love to learn more about what is working and what the challenges are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great idea, OP!

Composting on school grounds would be more efficient but MCPS does not allow it.
Composting is the easiest and one of the most impactful way to make a difference in greenhouse gas emissions.
Eventually the cost for trash removal would go down because there isn’t that much trash to pick up anymore.

setting up may be easy but who is going to maintain the compost pile etc if done by mcps? Another duty for building service workers? It's easier for schools to pay for a company to come collect.

[Anonymous]

In Washington DC:

DPW installed Food Waste Smart Bins!
There's now one on the corner of | by the .... Composting has never been easier.

Find & unlock a smart bin near you today: https://zerowaste.dc.gov/foodwastedropoff

zerowaste.dc.gov/foodwastedropoff
more information. https://youtu.be/1BuJHZsKWnY