Rocket Launch Long Beach Island Consolidated School District Angela C. Andersen Long Beach Township Recycling Coordinator and Co –author of State Farm Grant

Rocket Composter has landed at EJ  Long Beach Island Consolidated School District received funding from State Farm  Partners in Grant Writing: LBICSD Teacher /LBT Green Team Chairperson  Student focused project in waste reduction and community development

What is the rocket composter?

LBICSD “Kids for Compost? slogan”  Short Term goal: Integrate food waste composting within the school  Long Term Goal: Expand to families, residents, community Partnerships with community:  1> “composting outreach” links the community to the school compost program  2> Providing backyard compost education for families ( through units like the “earth machine”  LBT at LBIF

What is Compost?  COMPOSTING: the process of turningonce living organisms into rich soil (humus) food waste> soil enhancer  HUMUS/COMPOST: finished compost is dark brown, crumbly, and smells like a forest floor

Single Stream-reduce –reuse- recycle – foodcyling…

County “yard waste” composting- everything but kitchen sink

Ocean County Stats  Ocean County Landfill, Corp. Solid Waste   Ranging from $ $ per ton  Ocean County Single Stream Recycling  ,235 tons – saved $ 4 million in tonnage fees  Ocean County yard waste Compost Brush tons ( as of 11/30/11) Leaves tons ( as of 11/30/11)

Food Waste- the next frontier

County vs. Backyard vs. Rocket Composting  County: accepts leaves for composting and brush for wood chips ( which will go in the Rocket)  Backyard: Kitchen scraps veggie, fruit, coffee, tea, nuts and yard trimmings ( no meat or bones)  Rocket: food scraps including leftovers, plate scrapings, meat, bones, eggs, bread, rice, kitchen scraps

Environmental, Educational and Economic Benefits  Reduces school food waste, garden debris and the expense to haul it to dump.  Reduces “carbon footprint” (e.g., less garbage, so less to landfills = less methane emissions from landfills; e.g., fewer garbage trucks and pickups = less CO2 emitted, less pollution) (insert pic of pollution)  Reduces water use in gardens ( aerated healthy soil)  Improves community recycling efforts  Provides sustainability education and outreach to our community members  Enhances curriculum with real world learning of eco issues

Sustainable Community Benefits of Compost  Compost use: school, home, community/municipal locations  Benefits for the land and water: soilconditioner, a fertilizer, a natural pesticide ( heartier plants) insert pics **In ecosystems, compost is useful for increasing soil health and drainage, rainwater recharge and runoff /erosion control**