PARMA, Ohio — The thrust behind composting is to simply keep food waste out of landfills. The issue is methane emissions.
Normandy High School Culinary Arts teacher Chef Christie Gibbons said for years the idea of adding composting at the school has been a goal but fiscal and logistical limitations kept the effort from coming to fruition.
However, that’s about to change after Gibbons successfully applied for and received a nearly $1,600 ProStart grant.
“We took a field trip last fall to Tri-C where our seniors worked with their students,” she said. “In their refrigerator was a garbage bin where they were composting with Rust Belt Riders.
“I took down their information but I didn’t think about it again because I know it’s going to cost money. Then ProStart, which is our curriculum, put out a grant application for teachers that involved their classroom.”
That’s when Gibbons met with Rust Belt Riders, which provided the cost of the service that ultimately is being covered by the newly awarded grant.
“The partnership is a win for the community because capturing food scraps at schools not only saves a large amount of waste from entering the landfills — 6.5 tons expected to be diverted throughout the year-long partnership — but it also gives the next generation of land stewards, environmentalists and system thinkers the experience to make effective change in their roles in society after school,” Rust Belt Riders Commercial Solutions employee Robert Kurtz said.
Composting at Normandy High School in Parma. (John Benson/cleveland.com)John Benson/cleveland.com
The anticipated impact of the partnership in one year includes 13,000 pounds of food scraps diverted from the landfills, 28 yards of compost made from the food scraps captured at the school and 11,440 pounds of CO2 equivalent avoided.
The Northeast Ohio operation will now not only provide onboarding and a composting bin but also makes weekly Friday pickups.
“We fill up our garbage cans multiple times a day with so much stuff,” she said. “Rust Belt Riders can compost so many things — raw meats, bones, expired food, spoiled food, dairy products.
“Many things that you can’t do in a home garden because of the bacteria. But they get their compost pile up to 131° so it’s going to cook off any of the bacteria. That’s why they can take so many acceptable materials in their bins.”
The good news is Rust Belt Riders, which manages commercial food waste producers such as cafes, grocery stores and hospitals, will take off the summer months at Normandy when school isn’t in session.
Not only is the school’s culinary arts program composting but the initiative attracted the attention of students and staff members.
“All my kids were super excited,” she said. “They’re all really pumped. Also, I talked to our cafeteria ladies and they’re emptying their salad bar at the end of the day. They also just switched over from Styrofoam to recyclable trays.
“So, it’s just like making waves. Hopefully, we started something that they’ll think about doing at home and sharing with other people.”
Read more news from the Parma Sun Post here.
