Composting is a sustainable waste management practice that transforms organic materials, such as food scraps and garden waste, into nutrient-rich soil amendments. This START metric encourages schools to implement composting systems for both pre-consumer (e.g., kitchen prep waste) and post-consumer waste (e.g., leftover food from students and staff), as well as garden waste. By diverting organic materials from landfills, composting reduces methane emissions, enriches soil, and fosters a hands-on understanding of the natural recycling process.
The impact of composting is significant: food waste accounts for nearly 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP). Schools can play a critical role in addressing this issue by adopting composting practices, educating the school community, and creating a culture of waste reduction and environmental stewardship.
Strategies for Implementing Composting
NOTE: This is not a prescriptive list; it just offers ideas to inspire action and can be tailored to fit the unique needs of each school.
Conduct a Waste Audit
Identify the types and quantities of organic waste generated at your school, including cafeteria waste, classroom snacks, and garden clippings.
Use the data to design a composting program that fits your school’s specific needs.
Establish a Composting System
Set up on-site compost bins, tumblers, or piles for collecting food scraps and garden waste.
Choose a composting method suitable for your school, such as aerobic (traditional), vermicomposting (worms), or Bokashi (fermentation).
Designate Collection Points
Place clearly labeled compost bins in cafeterias, classrooms, and outdoor areas for easy access.
Educate the school community on what materials can and cannot be composted.
Involve Kitchen Staff
Work with kitchen staff to collect pre-consumer food waste, such as fruit peels, vegetable scraps, and coffee grounds.
Train staff on proper sorting practices to reduce contamination.
Include Post-Consumer Waste
Encourage students and staff to scrape leftover food and biodegradable materials into compost bins.
Provide compostable utensils and trays to simplify the process.
Compost Garden Waste
Use clippings, leaves, and other organic materials from landscaping activities in the compost system.
Avoid composting invasive plants or weeds that may survive the process.
Integrate Composting into Gardening Projects
Use finished compost in school gardens, flower beds, or landscaping to enrich the soil.
Showcase the composting-to-garden cycle as a teaching tool for environmental science and biology.
Partner with Local Composting Facilities
If on-site composting is not feasible, collaborate with local composting centers to collect and process your school’s organic waste.
Explore partnerships with farms or community gardens that can benefit from your compost.
Educate the School Community
Host workshops or presentations on composting and its environmental benefits.
Create signage and guides to ensure students and staff understand the composting process.
Incorporate Composting into the Curriculum
Use composting as a hands-on teaching opportunity for science, sustainability, and math lessons.
Involve students in monitoring compost temperature, moisture levels, and decomposition rates.
Monitor and Maintain the Compost System
Assign responsibilities to students or staff for turning, watering, and checking the compost.
Regularly inspect the system to ensure proper decomposition and address any issues, such as odors or pests.
Track and Share Progress
Measure the volume of waste diverted from landfills and the quantity of compost produced.
Share results with the school community to build enthusiasm and support for the program.
‘How To’ Guides
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A Guide to School Composting
From Cornell's WMI, steps to starting a school composting program, descriptions of successful programs, & ideas for curriculum integration.
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A Composting Guide for Student Leaders and Teachers
From Green Mountain Farm to School, a guide to creating an on-site school composting program, including equipment, supplies, and day-to-day procedures.
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On-Site Composting at Schools
Strategies, systems and useful cost estimates for implementing on-site composting systems.
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Bin/Dumpster Sticker Signage
From Ecocycle, bin-stickers and dumpster signage for composting bins.
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Images to Support Message
Ecocycle has provided compelling photos of composting systems where plastics have made it into the composting bins and have not degraded.
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A Composting Guide for Student Leaders and Teachers
From Green Mountain Farm to School, a guide to creating an on-site school
composting program, including equipment, supplies, and day-to-day procedures. -
Education Package: Rethinking Food Waste
From the Educated Choices Program, a video presentation and accompanying education package about "Re-thinking Food Waste: The Journey of Food".
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Grades of Green: LAUNCH Eco-Program
Grades of Green’s LAUNCH Eco-Lessons program offers engaging, step-by-step environmental lessons for K-12 students.
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Food Waste Experts (USA)
Food Waste Experts provides consulting services to help organizations reduce food waste, create value from food scraps, and implement sustainable solutions.
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EcoRich Food Waste Recycling (North America & Latin America)
EcoRich provides a variety of on-site commercial composting and food waste-to-energy solutions across the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
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Composting 101
From NowThisEarth, a Beginner's Guide to Composting.
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ClimateScience: Food Waste - The Hidden CostClimateScience: Food Waste - The Hidden Cost
Worldwide, 30% of food is lost or wasted - that’s 1.6 BILLION tonnes of food every year! It is vital that people are aware of the impacts of food waste and what they can do to make a difference.
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Student vision to reality: Onsite Compost Rocket
At Wayne Highlands School District (Pennsylvania USA), the Rocket A900 composter transforms school waste to compost on site.
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School Composting Demo
All Community Consolidated School District 93 (CCSD93 -- in Illinois, USA) students participate in composting every day, and this video is a great example of a Whole-School approach that even engages students in teaching and communicating about sustainability!
Schools hold the key to a healthy, sustainable and regenerative future.
They are role-models and incubators that that nurture, educate and prepare each generation for adult life.
Schools have a unique opportunity and profound responsibility to become part the transition to a sustainable, regenerative future in which people and planet can thrive.
But how do we get there?
START: Sustainability Tracking, Analytics & Roadmap Tool was created by schools, for schools, to help them develop comprehensive programs for step-by-step progress towards sustainability, regenerative practice, and student empowerment.
START provides a Roadmap for School Sustainability:
It breaks down school sustainability into clear actions (‘metrics’), such as Minimizing Waste, Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and supporting Sustainable Transportation options.
However, research shows it’s not enough for a school to simply reduce its environmental impact.
Students and staff also need to learn about sustainability, and practice it in day-to-day activities, because this impacts their attitudes and behaviors when they leave school. That’s why START includes metrics like Sustainability Events for Students, Sustainability Course Content, and Sustainable Purchasing Practices.
How sustainable is our school now?
Schools use START to measure how sustainable they are now. A school’s START team investigates how their school currently operates to find their ‘sustainability baseline’ for each metric. For example, is our school a beginner, intermediate or advanced in sustainable water use? START enables schools to benchmark, track and visualize their current sustainability levels, as well as hard data around their waste, water, energy and greenhouse gas emissions.
Where should we go next, and do we collaborate for success?
What do we need to do to ‘level up’ in each metric? Once schools have their baselines, START helps them to set goals and plan for progress. START provides a central hub for school members to collaborate, document, and plan their school’s sustainability journey.
START is a subscription-based Whole School Sustainability dashboard.
It requires at least one adult school member to create a school’s START account, but it will need a team (students, teachers and staff) to grow a Whole School Sustainability program.
Interested schools can sign up for a demo or apply to set up an account.
Learn more about START here, and consider sharing the brochure with your school.
Let’s create a better future, one school at a time.
Contact us at guides@greenschoolsalliance.org if you have a free resource to contribute or recommend that can help schools take action around this specific sustainability metric.