Composting in Schools

Nicky Scott Devon Community Composting Network Coordinator Composting in Schools Officer for Devon

Aims for the morning To develop your understanding of the types of composting equipment available and how they work. To become more familiar with additional equipment offered to schools and how to these help to make composting work in school. To see various types of composting systems working. Anything else you would like to add?

Composting in Schools Initiative funded by Devon County Council (Successful bid to Investing in Devon Fund) Aim to assist schools in eight learning communities to develop appropriate composting systems as an educational resource by providing advice, education and equipment Supports the Don’t let Devon go to waste campaign!

Composting in Schools Implementation of this scheme in each learning community aims to save approx:- £10,000/year 40 tonnes of waste/year 40 tonnes of carbon dioxide/year

Composting in Schools Complements: Every Child Matters, Children and Young People's Plan, School Improvement Programmes; - Healthy schools, - Eco-Schools, - Food for Life

Why compost in Schools? In the UK a primary school of 200 pupils produces 3 tonnes of waste each year, the equivalent weight of three rhinoceros. Across the whole country that’s the same as 67,200 tonnes or a herd of 67,200 rhinos!!!

Why compost in Schools? Each school can reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by two thirds! Each school spends between £300 to £1000 on waste disposal each year. Millions of pounds are wasted on waste disposal!

Waste Audit Evidence Nearly all food waste now composted using in-vessel systems! School reduced waste going to landfill by 82%!

Scotspin composter

Scotspin composter

Ridan composter

Rocket composter

Scotty Hot Box

Scotty’s Hot Box

Achieving a good system Follow the four point composting mantra: Food Water Air Warmth

How it works Composting goes through four stages First it gets warm Then, if the mantra has been followed properly it will rapidly progress to being hot. Turning daily to mix and aerate as new food waste is added will maintain the temperature and will accelerate the composting process as long as fresh materials are being added.

How it works Cooling. As long as the materials have heated up and are mostly broken down in the Scotspin, Ridan or Rocket they can be added to the maturation container (hotbox). *At this stage the material is only partly composted and it can vary enormously. 4. Maturation. Over a long period of time (between 6-12months) the compost can now mature.

Making it work! Daily tasks to maintain your composters: Collecting caddies Transferring food waste to Scotspin, Ridan or Rocket composter. Adding food waste to Scotspin, Ridan or Rocket and woodchip / wood pellets then tumbling or turning *Adult only to operate due to Health and Safety. Cleaning caddies and returning to stations / classrooms for use the next day What to do once your Scotspin is full: Once your Scotspin is ¾ full, it will need to be emptied into the Scotty’s hotbox and left to mature. *Health and safety issues need to be considered when transferring compost from tumbling system into Scotty’s hotbox.

Top tips Add fresh materials daily – do not leave waste hanging around in buckets/caddies getting smelly and attracting flies 

Top tips 2) Always make sure you have the right mix of wet to dry materials –fresh raw and cooked to dry woodchip/pelletised sawdust and mix well together 3) Wherever possible chop up whole fruit and vegetables or large items 

4) – Tumble / turn and mix every time you add fresh materials

Top tips 5) - Leave enough space for tumbling to occur - Cardboard and paper should not be added to tumbling systems in any large quantity as they tend to absorb too much moisture, do not offer structure allowing air flow and tend to conglomerate into balls. - It’s rare for the compost to be too dry but if it does seem to be too dry it’s better to try and add fresh green material than water.

Top tips 6 ) Line your buckets/caddies with some paper and or card to soak up liquids and make cleaning easier 7) It’s easy to store dry woodchip, just cover it up in a bay or use a container. 8) There’s plenty of woodchip around, you could ask if any parents or governors have a tree surgery business and could supply you. Alternatively wood pellets are easy to use.

Top tips 9) Keep records of what you are doing e.g. amounts, weights, volumes, types of materials, observations of moisture, temperature and odour. 10) Observe what is going on and take steps to rectify any problems as soon as possible, this generally means adjusting the moisture levels or emptying the tumbler into the maturation bin. Don’t panic! Compost happens!

Additional Equipment provided – Making it work!

Data recording sheet for input

Making it happen!

Whole school community commitment Whole school community commitment! – Designating an adult/s to be responsible for the project.

Appointing compost monitors to collect, empty and clean caddies.

Collecting food waste for composting Support from meal time assistants at lunchtime to ensure waste is collected. Support from kitchen staff to collect raw food waste e.g. Vegetable peelings.

Involving pupils in the project through curriculum work

Making rot pots!

Actively promoting composting across the school community both in school and at home.

Creating and using compost *Compost must be used on school grounds and must not be taken off site due to Animal by-product legislation.

Why compost at school? Creates a valuable resource – COMPOST It’s good for the environment It saves the school money Helps the school work towards environmental projects and initiatives e.g. Eco-schools. Gives children the opportunity for ownership of a project It’s a fantastic teaching resource *www.littlerotters.org.uk

Closing the loop! Compost Happens!

Education for the future

Any questions??? Contact: Nicky Scott Co-ordinator of Devon CCN Tel: 01647 432923 Mobile 07919 467 589 E-mail: nicky.scott@devon.gov.uk Website: www.dccn.org.uk