Exciting news just in time for Earth Month!
Charles E. Brown Middle School became the first middle school in the Newton Public Schools to implement food scrap collection in the cafeteria. Brown has joined the ranks of five NPS elementary schools that are already diverting organic waste from the trash. Instead of being incinerated with the trash, the food scraps are collected for anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion uses microorganisms to break organic matter down with the resulting methane and carbon dioxide used as a fuel source.
Brown’s Team Eco (a group of students, teachers, and PTO volunteers) has been working all year on this initiative, in collaboration with the Newton Department of Public Works and the Brown custodial team. Students developed a presentation that was disseminated to the entire student body prior to the roll out in the cafeteria. In addition, Team Eco created an Earth Month Challenge that students are participating in this month for the chance to win a prize. Prizes include miniature green recycling bins filled with candy from Fulfilled Goods. The program went live in the cafeteria on Monday, April 7, and in the first two days, students collected 126 pounds of food waste, diverting it from landfills.
