Nettelton is going Green with composting food waste

After lunch at the Nettleton cafeteria, students put food scraps into a pail so it can be composted. Photo by Kristen K. Hughes

By the Nettleton Green Team and Kristen K. Hughes

Nettleton has a growing group of students that care very deeply about energy conservation and green practices. The passion of our Green Team as it is called has driven the birth of our recycling and composting project that began this year. The Green Team consists of a core group of 5th grade students who devoted time and energy to researching, developing procedures, training, setting up, and running the composting project. The Green Team made visits to Stowe, the DECC, and WLSSD to research composting options. This project would not have succeeded without their hard work and dedication.

The Green Team has taught each grade how to compost. Composting is where you collect the food you did not eat and put it back into the earth so it can grow more food in the dirt composting made. By composting, Nettleton has taken about two tons of compost out of our garbage. Several area groups and businesses, including the Nettleton PTA, Marshall Hardware, and Twin Ports Paper & Supply, made donations allowing us to get our program up and running for this year. The Green Team chose the WLSSD composting program because we can compost more material that way. One of the Green Team’s goals will be fulfilled when our compost dumpster arrives next week so that we don’t have to haul the compost offsite anymore.

Nettleton Composting Facts

• Between 75 - 100 pounds per day are composted.
• Four tons will have been composted by year-end.
• Future plans include reducing waste by eliminating plastic cutlery, napkins and using a milk dispenser.