Program on the Environment

Composting is required in Seattle, but food and organic waste containers are not serviced if they are contaminated and contain plastic, metal, or glass. The practice of composting diverts organic waste from landfills, allowing it to decompose in a way that does not release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In my study, I identified barriers in Seattle schools that limit students and teachers from composting properly, and found solutions to overcome these barriers. I worked as an intern at Cedar Grove, reaching out to customers who had contaminated containers and designing educational materials to further customer knowledge about composting. I also created and sent out a survey to teachers at Seattle schools asking about their and their students’ behavior regarding composting at school and what improvements they would like to see to better facilitate composting at school. I found that teachers are unsatisfied with the composting infrastructure and the students’ and staff’s knowledge of how to sort organic waste and the composting process. They would like to see more bins in schools and have more educational presentations to improve understanding of how to sort waste and why composting is worthwhile. Implementing teacher suggestions would inspire students and teachers to practice sustainable behaviors at school and at home. Composting and inspiring other sustainable behaviors would help individuals reduce their environmental impact, decreasing the amount of methane emitted from landfills and also decreasing their overall carbon footprint as students and teachers lead more sustainable lives.