Grammar School look to composting school waste
BEAU Rijnders, Reuben O’Neill, Heather Logue, Nichole Edeko, Nicole Lynn, Roy Xu, Yadah Usoh and Sydnie Smith make up the Dundalk Grammar School group.
‘Our project’s (Plan’t Get Enough Compost) main goal is to make our school as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible,’ explained Beau.
‘We are focusing on recycling and composting. We are trying to gather the facilities necessary for this such as more recycling and composting bins for our classrooms and canteens and composters for kitchen waste.’
To raise money for these items, Reuben, Nicole and Heather pitched the project to the YSI Den and received €350.
‘Our long-term goal is to raise enough money to buy a big industrial composter that will deal with all of the schools compostable waste,’ Beau continued.
‘Hopefully, this will pay for itself over time because we plan to sell the compost it creates to local businesses.
‘COVID has slowed our project down a bit since we haven’t been able to buy any bins so far since we haven’t been to school.’
Another important aspect of the project is educating and spreading awareness.
‘It is no use having recycling and composting facilities if no one knows how to use them or if they don’t know why proper waste disposal is so important.
‘We have been taking over classes in our school to teach people how to create less food waste, how to properly dispose of waste and why improper waste disposal is harmful.’
The group also wants to inspire other schools and communities to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
‘YSI is a great program and I recommend it to any young person passionate about social issues. It has been a great experience and I feel that we have learned so much from it. It feels good to take charge and get involved within your community,’ Beau added.