Students eating in the Cafe Commons and on Freshman Hill this past week may have noticed that alongside trash and recycling, there are now several gray bins labeled “compost” with green bio bags to dispose of their food waste.
The environmentally-friendly addition represents the culmination of a year-long effort to bring composting to East by Eastainability, led by president junior Marin Lissy and vice-president senior Liana Tortora. Lissy has worked closely with CHCCS District Sustainability Coordinator Tommy Blair to identify funding.
“It’s certainly been a lot of work, and it’s never going to be a ‘perfect process.’ Still, what’s important to remember about this initiative is that any progress we can make, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction,” Lissy said. “We don’t expect every East student to participate in composting at lunch, and we recognize that realistically, some days the compost bins might get filled with trash. However, with consistency and collaboration, we can really emphasize building habits that benefit our environment by diverting landfill waste.”
Composting transforms food scraps into decomposable organic material that can be used as usable nutrient rich soil. During the pandemic, Lissy’s family began composting and that experience provided her with the inspiration to bring it to East.
“We’ve generated a lot of waste, especially with the free lunches,” Lissy said. “It’s a great program, but I can’t help but think, where does all of that extra food go if kids aren’t eating it?”
For the next several weeks, Lissy is encouraging student volunteers to monitor the composting bins, which should only contain food waste and paper napkins, and can be easily mistaken for trash cans.
“It may be inconvenient for the time being, but only until we establish a routine. Once composting at lunch becomes a habit, hopefully we won’t need compost monitors at every single bin, and more students and faculty will think of other small changes they can make to their lives to support our environment.”
Composting has allowed Eastainability to branch out and realize their collective power as individuals working together as a team to produce meaningful change, especially with the help of administrators.
“I think what’s really special about being able to launch this program is the investment that our school’s and district’s adults have in students,” Lissysaid. “Every conversation I’ve had with Mr. Blair has been about how can we get students involved, and how can we best serve their needs. This also goes to show what you can accomplish by just asking and being persistent. I was told by multiple people that composting wouldn’t work out, and at first I didn’t even know where to get started… However, the school and the district have more resources than we realize, it’s just a matter of being creative and taking advantage of them. I am incredibly excited to be launching this program, and I am so grateful for the support of CHCCS Sustainability staff, the East administrators, and the East facilities staff.”
In making our school more sustainable, Eastainability doesn’t want to stop at composting. In addition, Lissy hopes to advocate changes to our use of transportation.
“I think it would be great if we could use more electric or alternative energy sources,” she said. “With solar panels in the front of the school, it would be really cool to be able to use more sustainable energy to power both our building and our buses.”
Scorning an abundance of litter—from masks to plastic bottles—creating a more pristine campus has been another of Eastainability’s primary goals. They have hosted multiple volunteer days to maintain and de-weed the pollinator garden near the football field with the help of the Bee Club and Monarch Butterfly Club.
As a form of activism, the club also plans on having a political letter writing campaign to connect with elected officials.
“We can make changes as individuals, but we also need to have some sort of systemic change,” Lissy said. “That happens through local politics, state politics, even national politics.”
Beyond participating in environmental activities, though, Lissy encourages classmates to reconsider their day-to-day choices and make small adjustments.
“Just kind of considering what you’re doing day to day can have an impact on the environment and how you yourself can be in control of just little things, like can you walk instead or drive, or if you actually look at a piece of plastic, look at the numbers. See if it’s recyclable, and then wash it out and recycle it instead of just throwing it away,” Lissy said. “It all comes down to simple decisions when you pack your lunch or when you get lunch from school. On top of composting and recycling, see if you can bring reusable silverware, use less plastic or more reusable items.”
Photo courtesy of Marin Lissy.
