Urban Ecology Waste Reduction Project

The mission of our Project Roots Compost Program is to serve as a model of a sustainable means of urban waste reduction. At I.S. 318, this goal is achieved by reducing the organic waste stream from the kitchen and dining areas in a closed loop system. Each school day the waste that is separated is transported in buckets to our community garden where students weigh it, estimate its volume, chop it and mix it with brown organic material (wood chips, leaves or saw dust) for decomposition. The recycled soil is then used in community gardens throughout Brooklyn. We have conducted several school waste audits and have estimated that our program diverts 10% of the total cafeteria waste (by weight) from a trip to the landfill. This amounts to about 45 pounds a day or approximately 7500 pounds in an academic year!

Link: Urban Ecology Waste Reduction Project