Composting at Troy High School Reduces Food Waste
Over the course of the school year, Troy High has ramped up their efforts to include sustainable measures within the school.
The school’s Green Space Club originally started as a space for students to plan a potential garden in the Courtyard, located in the center of the school. However, as students began to notice areas Troy High could improve in suitability, like the lack of recycling bins and food waste, they were encouraged by their teacher advisors, Mrs. Chin and Mrs. Robles, to put these ideas into productive action.
The group’s prominent project thus far has been their composting initiative. Prior to the project, Troy High, alongside many other high schools in Michigan, had only a single waste trash option. All trash would end up going to the landfill. In an effort to reduce the amount of food waste and educate the school on the benefits of daily composting, including lowering greenhouse gas emissions, Green Space started working on a plan to implement a composting initiative for all lunches, with help and resources from the Detroit Zoo.
After receiving the Detroit Zoo Zero Waste School Lunch Bundle grant, a $1,500 bundle given to six schools across Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties to increase sustainability measures, Troy High set to work. The first step was gauging both student interest and educating students on why this measure was important. On December 4th, a Composting Guest Speaker from the Detroit Zoo, Sarah, came in during lunch to demonstrate to students how composting would be sorted and set up. This was key for the school’s Waste Audit, meant to see how much impact Composting would really have on the school’s waste. On December 17th, through the composting initiatives, Troy High saw an impressive 2/3rds decrease in landfill trash. Typically, the school had been sending 30 bags of trash to the dumpster, but that day, only 10 were sent out. In just one day, 100 pounds of food were composted.
This success urged the group to continue with their project. On March 23rd, Troy High officially launched composting at all lunches. Students now have the opportunity to separate between food waste, compostable packaging, meats, liquids, and landfill items, fostering a more eco-friendly environment. An additional 118+ pounds of food waste was composted. These efforts were further showcased and explained at the Green Space Fair, held on April 20th at all lunches, in celebration of Earth Day. Students who compost are given raffle tickets to possibly earn prizes, further incentivizing eco-friendly behavior.
This program has resulted in further statewide recognition. In the past, Troy High School has fallen in Tier 2 or Emerald status from the Green Schools Initiative. However, with the massive success of the composting project, Troy High School now has the Evergreen School Environmental Stewardship Designation and was invited to the Tri-County Green Schools Celebration at the Detroit Zoo on May 6th.
It’s truly remarkable how the work of administration, Mrs. Chin and Mrs. Robles, and the Greenspaces club have encouraged the needed sustainability reforms. Alongside these staff members and students, blocks of Environmental Science students have worked to educate their peers and volunteer to run the composting station. The Troy High community has proven the ability and importance of groups of people working together on a pressing issue.
Blog post written by Jyotsna Shivakumar, a Creative Guild Student Producer.