Wilmette Junior High School is one of eight that received a Can O’ Worms indoor composting bin as part of the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County’s annual waste reduction grant program.
Students and staff contribute lunchtime fruit and vegetable scraps, which are collected weekly by Spanish teachers Danielle Martinez and Laura Hawkins.
The organic matter is put in the bin for the worms and microorganisms to convert into a nutrient-rich humus.
Worm composting, according to the agency’s recycling and education director, Mary Allen, “demonstrates the cycle of recycling because the food scraps are kept out of the garbage and converted into a product good for the garden.”
Other schools in communities served by the agency also received worm bins this grant round, including Hubbard Woods School in Winnetka.
Since 1993, the agency has provided schools with funds to buy items to reduce waste that include recycling bins; waste-free lunch food and beverage containers; reusable trays, silverware, food containers, beverage bottles, coffee mugs, napkins and lunch bags; dry erase boards; and industry-related resource materials.
The Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County is an intergovernmental agency. Established in 1988, it is composed of 23 communities, including Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Kenilworth, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Park Ridge, Skokie, South Barrington, Wilmette and Winnetka.
The agency provides member residents with a variety of waste reduction and recycling services, programs and resource materials. These include collections for special materials that cannot go into the curbside recycling cart or should not go into the garbage due to toxicity or recoverability, such as computer and electronics, prescription drugs and sharps, compact fluorescent light bulbs, mercury thermometers, athletic shoes and holiday lights.
Visit swancc.org for more information.
Article source: http://www.pioneerlocal.com/wilmette/news/3020194,wilmette-ypwormbin-012011-s1.article
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