Composting Should Be Taught In Schools

As landfills pile higher and higher, the entire earth is hurt by the pollution let out by the stacks upon stacks of garbage. There is a way to reduce the piles of used garbage bags full of rotten food, though; composting. A school of two-hundred students produces three-thousand pounds of waste from their cafeteria each year, over half of which can be recycled, greatly reducing how much garbage goes into landfills. Composting should be required in schools. It costs very little, can give students a great learning opportunity, and helps the environment.

Making an on-site bin composting system only costs around four-hundred dollars while giving students a great learning opportunity, unless the materials are donated, which are fairly common and should be of no issue to fund raise the costs for. Having your composting done commercially costs thirty dollars a month, or three-hundred and sixty a year, and can be much more effective at reducing waste, but robs students of a great learning opportunity. Alternatively, doing a combination of an on-site bin with the occasional weekly pick up from a commercial compost only costs fifteen dollars a month, or one hundred and eighty dollars a year, plus the initial costs of setting up a smaller bin system for around two-hundred …show more content…
Students also gain general awareness of environmental problems and see how they can help. And as students see all the trash they output in a few lunches alone they will become aware of their environmental footsteps and attempt to keep them down. It can even teach students how to run their own composting site at home or elsewhere, further helping the environment beyond the school walls. Having students see composting at school just generally makes them more environmentally aware. It should be noted, though, that if you have your composting done fully through commercial means then your students will miss out on this substantial learning