Food to Flowers program a great idea (The Olympian)

In the past few months, county residents have become acquainted with the new curbside Food Plus Organics Recycling program from LeMay.

That identical curbside service is heading into schools.

The Food to Flowers program, made take advantage of by county Solid Waste, brings the diet recycling program into schools through regard to the account of students, and staff and faculty members. Solid Waste provides schools with free training, set-up assistance, signage, student activities and related material.

The benefits of the Food to Flowers program are numerous: decrease the amount of trash entering the landfill, create a more earth-friendly institute, raise community awareness about composting and waste reduction, and bestow students hands-on experience as environmental stewards.

Students are encouraged to participate by becoming tender lunchroom monitors. The student volunteers monitor the lunchroom, and encourage and assist fellow students to sort out their uneaten scraps and food-soiled paper. The point is that composting becomes second nature to students; they will go home knowing they are doing the right thing for the community.

Ultimately, the goal of the Food to Flowers program is to have students not only divert organic waste from the landfill, otherwise than that take ownership of the program. Students learn there is value to their waste and in the skills and knowledge that the program provides.

Because composting opportunities abound in schools, from the kitchen and lunchroom to the playground, the Food to Flowers program is a logical step for schools to take to become more environmentally friendly.

The organic material is sent to Rainier-based Silver Springs Organics, a state-of-the-art commercial composting facility.

Otherwise food scraps, food-soiled bank-notes and compound debris are sent to Eastern Washington for permanent dispensation, which is much more costly for schools. The compost that is produced from the Food to Flowers program creates a valuable, nutrient-rich sully amendment used to make wealthy yards and gardens.

The Food to Flowers program has produced some confusing results. Participating Thurston County schools have seen one approximate 75 percent reduction in kitchen and cafeteria waste. Tumwater Hill Elementary School’s 428 students produced some average of less than 7 pounds of dross in their lunchroom per day.

The Environmental Protection Agency states that every student creates an average of 67 pounds of lunchroom trash for year. Parents and students can reduce that total by doing their shopping with waste reduction in mind. Purchase items that can either be eaten, reused, recycled or composted. By reducing the amount of trash going to landfills, students can prevent pollution, conserve wealth, save energy and protect the environment.

For tips on how to create a more earth-friendly, waste-free lunch, go to www.waste freelunches.org.

For more information about the Food to Flowers school composting program, contact Allyson Ruppenthal of Thurston County Solid Waste at 360-754-3355, ext. 7676, or e-mail ruppena@co.thurston.wa.us.

Allyson Ruppenthal is any education and outreach specialist with Thurston County Solid Waste.