Ecology Project

Danielle Honan, Kiera Jost, Hannah Gorman,

Lauren Bertelson, Avery Allen, Ryley Cowan,
Grace Heilman, Drew Bussanmas
Our Goal
Our goal is to remove plastics from the
school cafeteria and replace them with
compostable materials
It is also to encourage Monarch to have
a better composting program
The school could easily transition to
providing compostable silverware and
cups and adding a compost bin for
other compostable materials
 Composting decreases our carbon
Why
compost?
footprint
The majority of waste put into landfills is
compostable
Landfills release large amounts of methane,
which contributes significantly to global
climate change
We can easily reduce the amount of waste in
landfills by composting

Short video on composting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yza9sQmVwZQ
Compostable Any material that is
Materials organic, not animal
based, and free of toxic
chemicals can be
composted
Fruits, vegetables, coffee
grinds, tea bags, egg
shells, paper products, etc
More on composting

A large amount of waste comes from schools, office

buildings, malls, etc
Composting speeds up natural decomposition and is
carried out by organisms such as bacteria, which
changes the chemistry of organic waste
Also decreases the use of toxic fertilizers
Taking Action: Outline of Action Plan
I. Set goal
II. Do research on composting
III. Contact Monarch High School Kitchen Lead and present
research/ideas
IV. Contact Director of Food Services for BVSD to see if it is
possible to obtain compostable materials for Monarch
and other BVSD schools
V. If yes, great! If no, create posters to pass out and share
about composting (can still do second part even if yes)
Taking Action
We spoke with Emilia, Monarch High
Schools Kitchen Lead about making the
switch to compostable silverware and
glasses
I was able to contact Ann Cooper, Director
of BVSD Food Services about a larger
composting program and ordering
compostable silverware and cups
This will begin next year!
Also made posters to advertise composting
Posters
Reflection: Accessing
Effectiveness
Encouraging Monarch to compost will hopefully
contribute to reducing trash in landfills and thus
our carbon footprint
However, it is important to encourage other BVSD
schools to compost as well as large shopping
centers and companies to compost as well
Even one school composting makes a difference
 Future
Next Steps
Hopefully, a future next step is encouraging all
BVSD schools to begin composting
As a larger goal, it would be incredibly beneficial
if we could get all schools in Colorado or in the
United States to begin composting
Another possible next step could be reaching out
to large centers like Flatirons Mall to encourage
composting there as well
Bibliography
http://www.earthtimes.org/going-green/importance-composting-help-eliminate-organic-waste-fertilize-soil/82/

http://greenactioncentre.ca/reduce-your-waste/why-should-i-compost/

https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/blog/2013/04/22/the-science-behind-composting/

http://www.mercurynews.com/2013/10/16/reducing-waste-turning-waste-around-by-composting-organics/

http://compost.css.cornell.edu/why.html

https://www.planetnatural.com/composting-101/science/