There are a few things that should be considered initially:
• for it to be successful there should be a dedicated member of staff, who can give regular commitment, plus preferably some pupil involvement.
• consider how much waste your school produces to find out which system will work best for you.
• some form of back up support needs to be provided – of course this could be their friendly local Master Composter!
• build in time during the planning stage for legislation difficulties & paperwork.
The schools, we got to take part, generally all loaded the systems on a daily basis, which took approximately 10-15minutes including the recording of data. Most schools included cooked and uncooked food, which was balanced with browns, usually in the form of wood pellets. A 50:50 or 60:40 mix of greens and browns, as you would all expect with home composting, resulted in an end product which was fresh smelling and a little dry and woody. The resulting compost does seem to appear a little woodier than you would expect from a home composting system, but most of the schools were happy with it and intended to use it as a mulch or soil conditioner.
Pupils were interested and keen to be involved and the teachers felt there was an educational value in understanding composting and its impact. The catering staff were also fully supportive. They found it quick and easy to use. Schools generally felt that the financial saving of using the in-vessel system was insignificant, but they all felt the great benefit was in reducing landfill, being more sustainable and providing free compost for the garden.
So if you are considering a composting solution for a school, there is now a rich vein of experience anbd knowledge at Garden Organic so if want to know more feel free to drop them an email at: jgriffiths@gardenorganic.org.uk
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