Impact of Enviornmental Education on Compost Levels and Landfill Waste Reduction at Chapin High School

School Name

Chapin High School

Grade Level

11th Grade

Presentation Topic

Environmental Science

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Abstract

Food waste is a growing problem in the United States where roughly 40% of edible food is wasted annually in American homes. A majority of this waste is post-consumer because the producers are extremely efficient in affluent countries like the U.S. Many people don’t know the implications of wasting food. The option of composting was not even an available in Chapin’s cafeteria until this research began. This waste becomes a nutrient rich soil known as “humus” which is extremely effective for growing crops. This study introduced a composting option into the cafeteria and measured how the students composted daily over a two-week span. After these two weeks, an educational push was initiated which involved posters and videos to introduce the students to composting and the rules and benefits that it entails. The food waste was measured, in pounds, each day for several weeks after the educational push. The study found that an average of 5 pounds of food was composted before the educational push and 8 pounds of waste after. This research was statistically relevant and showed that students composted more waste after they were educated on the topic. Composting on the school level can drastically improve environmental preservation.

Location

Wall 206

Start Date

3-25-2017 9:15 AM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Mar 25th, 9:15 AM

Impact of Enviornmental Education on Compost Levels and Landfill Waste Reduction at Chapin High School

Wall 206

Food waste is a growing problem in the United States where roughly 40% of edible food is wasted annually in American homes. A majority of this waste is post-consumer because the producers are extremely efficient in affluent countries like the U.S. Many people don’t know the implications of wasting food. The option of composting was not even an available in Chapin’s cafeteria until this research began. This waste becomes a nutrient rich soil known as “humus” which is extremely effective for growing crops. This study introduced a composting option into the cafeteria and measured how the students composted daily over a two-week span. After these two weeks, an educational push was initiated which involved posters and videos to introduce the students to composting and the rules and benefits that it entails. The food waste was measured, in pounds, each day for several weeks after the educational push. The study found that an average of 5 pounds of food was composted before the educational push and 8 pounds of waste after. This research was statistically relevant and showed that students composted more waste after they were educated on the topic. Composting on the school level can drastically improve environmental preservation.