Vision

Our school’s vision was to reduce organic waste going to landfills and improve the quality of the soil in the gardens. We decided to purchase a Food Cycler to effectively reduce food waste and make our gardens grow. We wanted to enrich the soil in our gardens without the use of any chemicals so using compost was a great plan. We decided that the Food Cycler would be a useful tool to help us accomplish both objectives and foster environmental awareness amongst our students.

Action

Students and teachers worked to collect the organic waste, one day of the week. The organic waste was weighed and put into the Food Cycler. Students were shown how to tare the scale and weigh the material. They learned how to run the Food Cycler and then we mixed the composted material into the gardens to help enrich the soil.

Reflection & Celebration

Students noticed that over the course of a month we gathered more food scraps, and therefore diverted more waste from the landfill. After a month-long campaign of making announcements and being reminded the students got used to diverting their food waste into the green bin to be made into compost. We plan on continuing our efforts and increasing the use in the school to several times a week and potentially everyday. The students enjoyed collecting and processing the food waste and then putting the material into the garden. We hope to use our Food Cycler for many years to come to make an impact to reduce our waste, help protect the planet and grow a variety of plants that encourage pollinators.

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