Community composting at Ancona
Ancona has been teaching students to compost for two decades. We accept compostable goods from the school building, from students’ homes, and from the school’s immediate neighbors. In a given year, we divert 2,000-3,000 gallons of organic waste from landfills.
Now that it’s fall, please consider bringing in bags of leaves from your yard. Leaf mulch is a terrific soil conditioner.
If you’d like to participate, here’s a list of what we accept. And here’s an Edutopia blog about how composting fits into our curriculum.
What we compost
- Fruits and vegetables
- Tea and paper tea bags
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Leaves
- Grass clippings from unsprayed lawns
- Used paper towels and kleenexes (as long they’re not greasy or doused in cleaning spray)
- Shredded office paper (white paper only)
- Cut flowers and potted plants
- Paperboard takeout containers (rinsed)
- Brewing mash
- Bread
- Nut hulls
- Egg shells
- Oyster and mussel shells
- Pet waste from rabbits
What we do not compost
- Seafood and meats
- Dairy
- Hair
- Pet waste from dogs, cats, reptiles
- Sawdust
- Plastic tea bags
- Pulled weeds or diseased plants
- Pencil shavings–never, ever, ever!
- Dental floss
- Disposable cleaning wipes (they’re made of plastic)
Compostable goods can be left in the buckets outside the Kenwood garden gate or at the gate from the playground to the alley.