Practicum Experience Paper 2
photo credit: “Trash Before” at Renfroe Middle School, All Rights Reserved, Amanda Burns 2018
Food Waste Audit at Fourth and Fifth Academy (FAVE)
The second part of the practicum was on the other end of the food system- waste. I helped with a food waste audit at the Fourth and Fifth Academy on Fifth Avenue (FAVE), in Decatur. It was from 10 to 2, the typical lunch time at a middle school. All of the other volunteers were parents of students at FAVE, besides one of the Sustainability Fellows from Agnes Scott and myself. This post highlights my process of experience, learning, and reflection in the form of a paper.
A food waste audit is the best way to determine the amount of trash that is produced in a given amount of time, as well as the different kinds of trash. In this case, we set up buckets (and bags) for the different categories: plastic utensils, milk cartons and recyclable items, trays, milk liquid, other liquid, fruits and vegetables, other foods, foods from home, and finally, trash. The idea is that, in dividing the waste into these categories and weighing them all separately at the end they can then determine the best steps to take to divert or decrease waste. For example, if there were a lot of recyclable containers, investing in a recycling bin and paying for weekly pick-up would be important. Or, if there was a lot of fruit and vegetable waste, then a compost pile on school grounds may be feasible and effective, as opposed to an industrial composting solution. In this way, a more sustainable system can be built, focusing on what is needed and what is most effective in terms of the environment, as well as the financial cost. This is what sustainability is.
photo credit: “Compost” by Oregon State University is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
In “Forget Shorter Showers”, Derrick Jensen highlights an important aspect of sustainability and environmental despair. The piece focuses on the fact that, as an individual, the effort toward environmental health and trying to combat climate change can be challenging when attempting to effect change through simple lifestyle choices, such as taking a shorter shower. (2009) Does changing out an LED light bulb really make a difference when huge, global corporations are releasing tons of chemicals into our waterways and pollution into our atmosphere? Does taking a shorter shower really make a difference when, in Water Wars, Vandana Shiva points out that fact that it takes “60,000-190,000 gallons of water to produce/manufacture a ton of paper from pulp?” (2016, p. 33).
photo credit: “King of the Trash Hill- Buckhorn Mesa landfill” by Alan Levine is licensed under CC BY 2.0
In my life as a consumer and American citizen, I agree with Jensen, that the despair can become overwhelming. However, working on both the food waste audit, and at Love is Love Farm, my perspective has shifted slightly- more towards hope. When reflecting on the experience at the Food Waste Audit, and working on a plan for Renfroe Middle School to reduce food waste, I have realized that school systems offer a unique solution to this despair. Although the work is geared toward individuals- the students as well as the school- these ideas are being introduced into an environment for teaching and learning. This is the first step toward a broader change in social systems and institutional places, starting with a single school, and branching out to other schools and school systems. Furthermore, schools are institutional places of learning, and if individuals in those places (teachers, students, administration, and employees) can learn and accept ways of sustainable living in these places of their lives, the ideas can easily spread to other aspects of life and society as well.
When we were cleaning up after the students were done with lunch, I realized that most of the waste we had carefully collected, sorted, and weighed was going to go straight to the dumpster. This did not shock me; however, I think it brings up an interesting point. When working with institutional places, and new ideas, it takes a lot of time, effort, and planning to make all of the parts run smoothly and work toward a main goal. In this case, the goal was to collect data, but not necessarily to divert one lunch day’s worth of waste to anywhere other than the dumpster. While it was sad to watch all of the trash bags get hauled away to the trash, and eventually to the landfill, it was also a lesson for me, on slowing down. It also made me realize that sometimes taking small steps is the only way to accomplish something on a larger-scale, institutional level.
Seeing the waste system at FAVE brought up questions about Agnes Scott’s waste system as well. In my many conversations with Susan Kidd (Director of the Office of Sustainability) about Agnes Scott composting and waste diversion, I know that Agnes Scott does most of its composting in the back of the house at the dining hall. This is one of the benefits of having a dining hall system that is set up to do this. Schools like FAVE and Renfroe Middle School are not set up this way. This is why solutions like a waste diversion line were created.
photo credit: “Compost Barrel” All Rights Reserved, Amanda Burns 2015
A situation Agnes Scott struggled with was to implement composting in the residence halls. In the end the system did not work and was put on the back burner, but I had the unusual experience of living on a college campus (College of the Atlantic in Maine) that had a composting system for the student residences, and while I was there, I worked to make the system run smoother. Composting in the residence areas was possible because of the small size of the school, the attitude and awareness of the students who attended the school, and the knowledge and willingness of the administration and school faculty and student workers to pursue this in an effort to create a more sustainable waste system.
Although Agnes Scott struggled with this, I think that the ability to expand composting and waste diversion into all of the levels of a college or school could begin an important conversation and learning initiative that would be a great way to teach and show students the possibilities for sustainability in the future and how applicable it is in all sectors of society. And maybe, even if Agnes Scott cannot successfully implement an entire campus composting program in the future, connecting with other schools and organizations working toward that cause (either to implement in their own places, or in the greater social arena) with Agnes Scott students, would bridge an important gap between learning, doing, and thinking critically on a level that would not be possible to teach in a classroom.
photo credit: “Peggy Rockefeller Farm Compost” All Rights Reserved, Amanda Burns 2015
Sources
Jensen, D. (2009, July/August). Forget Shorter Showers: Why Personal Change Does Not Equal Political Change. Orion Magazine. Retrieved from https://orionmagazine.org/article/forget-shorter-showers/
Kidd, S. (2019, January 17). Sustainable Agnes: Tour of the Center for Sustainability. Lecture presented at Religion and Ecology with Tina Pippin in Agnes Scott College, Decatur.
Shiva, V. (2016). Water wars: Privatization, pollution, and profit. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books
