DAY 8 GREENEST F O O D W A S T E

Transcription

1 PROJECT GREEN CHALLENGE 2017 DAY 8 GREENEST F O O D W A S T E BENJAMIN WONG ROHAN REDDY BENJAMIN YAO ROBERT YU

2 OUR FINDINGS 01 CURRENT LEFTOVER SITUATION 02 COMMUNITY FOOD DONATIONS Currently food is disposed into our regular trash system, where it is mostly sent off to a landfill. This is unfortunate because food has so much potential for usage in other areas. Because food is made of organic compounds (as it was previously life: meat, plants), it can decompose much faster than other materials/products. This being the case, composting food has the ability to provide rich nutrients to soil and thus benefit plants greatly. Not only is compost easy to do, but it also is a great way to reduce food waste and have a more natural and cheep fertilizer. We believe our dining services do not donate any food to the community; However some students are able to apply for our schools Free & Reduced Meal Program if applicable. Because schools are a large institution and thus have many people to feed, leftovers that would otherweise be thrown out must be abundant. The possibilities of these perfectly "fine" foods are endless,these dishes can be donated to soup kitchens and other community organizations. It's time to stop letting food turn into food waste! COMPOSTING OF SCHOOL FOOD WASTE 03 Our school s dining services do not compost. However it is imperative that our school initiates a composting system. Not only is it a convenient way to dispose of waste, it is an opportunity to create a fertilizer that can provide key nutrients to plants. If thrown away, these food wastes would most likely be locked in a pile at a landfill where they would take an extremely long time to degrade. In edition, large-scale composting has the potential to power anaerobic digesters and give back to local gardeners/farmers!

3 OUR PLAN: Community Awareness Collective actions is key to make any large impact. By having high participation in a food reaction campaign, the impact of a single individual can be magnified through large groups. We will do this through the use of social media and traditional advertising. By posting on a multitude of social media accounts, team EcoHawks can raise awareness and call social media followers to action. With a media following of hundreds, many of whom are from the JHS campus, team EcoHawks can change individual action to the hundreds. Traditional advertising: poster and word of mouth Food Scrap Collection Setup labeled trash cans able to accept large amounts of food waste in cafeteria. Create signs and educate students on what is appropriate to put in the cans. Oils in small portions can be allowed Meat is not the best to compost (attracts pests) Vegetables and fruits are the best.

4 Compost Creation Connect with campus environmental groups and environmentally-conscious students to create a solid composting system (we contacted student council president Jack Mok and drafted an to Lunch Director Tracy Gilet). One of the key actions to creating a legitimate compost system is discussing plans with those who have the power to change school policy. We already contacted our lunch program director. Future contacts: Student council, Groundskeeping staff, etc. It is also necessary to have onsite- compost turners that are able to accommodate the high amounts of food waste produced. Distribute Compost Begin fundraisers by selling nutrient rich soil/compost Distribute freely to community gardeners, farmers, and other large groups who would be willing to accept the compost and use it appropriately. With this plan, our next step was to contact those that could make a direct impact on changing the way our school disposes of the waste it creates. We decided to contact our school's lunch director and speak with the Student Council President of Jericho High School.

5 CONTACTING SCHOOL LUNCH DIRECTOR

6 PRESENTING TO STUDENT COUNCIL PRES. We also discussed our plan with Student Council President Jack Mok: After cross-country practice one day, Ben W. of the EcoHawks met with Jericho HS Student Council President Jack Mok and presented our plan to him. After their talk, we learned that recycling has not been discussed in student council before and that he (Jack) looks forward to potentially raising awareness to our waste program at Jericho HS and to present our proposal to the student council of all grades to see if we can do something about it. We hope that this will be the step towards a composting system being implemented in our very own high school!

7 CAMPUS WASTE We took pictures of three garbage cans in our cafeteria at the end of the day. The amount of waste inside made us shocked, especially how much compostable materials there are in the trash. However, plastic wrappers dominated the trash bin, followed by food scraps, paper bags, and trays. If we can get our high school to start a composting program, much of this biodegradable waste can be composted without being thrown into the trash and ending up in our overflowing landfills.