Carmel High School’s Environmental Club was set to implement a composting program at the high school this October, but a series of setbacks have hindered the process.
“Either someone hates me, or they hate the Environmental Club,” said club advisor Jason Mass-Baldwin after 13 cinder blocks, paint cans and a power drill were stolen from the compost’s site, located on the access road near the pool.
The cinder blocks, put in place by members of the Environmental Club and AP Environmental Science students, make up the relatively simple design of the compost bin.
Despite the time and more than $90 lost to these hitches along the way, Environmental Club members remain optimistic and still plan to move forward with the project this November.
“Compost is an easy, healthy and cheap option to reduce our waste,” said senior Carli Hambley, who spear-headed the project. “I don’t see why it hasn’t been done at CHS yet.”
The club plans to attach seven or eight buckets for compost waste—fruits and vegetables only—to pre-existing trash cans around the school.
Club members will collect the buckets after every lunch and bring them to a mid-bin, and every Friday the club will bring the mid-bin to the compost site.
While the Environmental Club will be the sole caretakers of the compost for now, Maas-Baldwin hopes to incorporate more student involvement in the future. According to Maas-Baldwin, compost can be a great teaching tool for all science classes.
“I hope the compost program will reduce waste on campus,” Maas-Baldwin remarked. “Hopefully it will increase students’ awareness to live in greater harmony with our planet.”
-Lana Richards
