By Claire Keenan –
“Reduce, reuse, recycle” has always been a mantra at Nepean High School. But this year, “compost” has been added to the list. Just after students returned from March Break, some noticed the addition of a brand new compost bin in the cafeteria. Now, there are smaller green bins spread out around the school.
Eight other OCDSB high schools that have green bins, and Nepean is happy to become the ninth. Every day students throw out fruit cores, paper plates, and vegetable scraps which all go straight into the garbage. Now, thanks to the Environment Club, we can compost our food. The Environment Club initiated the idea of installing green bins in September 2017 and they finally completed the project in March 2018.
The green bins are in most department offices for the teachers to use. The main green bin is in the cafeteria, where the contents of the smaller green bins can be emptied. The bin liners are bought by the Environment Club. The goal of the Environment Club is to help Ontario-based charities such as Ontario Nature and its Protected Places Campaign and to encourage Nepean students to be mindful of the environment.
Announcements have gone out encouraging students to compost their waste but word of mouth is how the club is getting the information out about the new bins. Word travels fast in a high school, and so a quick shout out to your friends about the green bins will help to spread the news. The bins are being filled, but lots of compostable items are still going in the garbage. If students really made an effort, compost bins could be filled every few days.
The Environment Club is excited to have these green bins as they will hopefully encourage students to compost both at school and at home.
Claire Keenan is a grade 12 student at Nepean High School.