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
footprint

compost?
The majority of waste put into
landfills is compostable
Landfills release large amounts of
methane, which contributes
significantly to global climate change
Why

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
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!

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

 Hopefully, a future next step is encouraging

Next Steps
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
Future

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/