Author: Caroline Orzechowski
We all know a little something about waste- whether that be the money we spend a little too much of on our macchiatos, or the staggering pileup of leftovers weighing down our fridge. Additionally, we’ve all seen trash cans overflowing and tilting with the weight of our waste. This year, Nordonia’s Enviro Club, led by Jenn Tomak, Leah McMichael, Lexi Adams, Caroline Orzechowski, and advised by chemistry teacher Mr. Doug Arbuckle, sought out a solution to reduce waste and increase awareness of environmental issues during Earth Week.
Partnered with the Akron Zoo’s Sustainability Director, Chris Norman, the Environ Club coordinated a Zero-Waste Day, which focused on decreasing the amount of landfill waste produced during Nordonia’s lunch periods. For the day, the cafeteria switched to all compostable materials, and club leaders and members volunteered to help students sort their waste into three sections- compost, recycling, and landfill trash. Following the lunch periods, club members volunteered to deliver the bags of compost and trash to the Akron Zoo, where they would then be taken to the Akron Zoo’s industrial scales, right next to their advanced composting machine, named Big Hanna. The bags of compost were dropped into the machine, and shredded up into a pulp digestible for Big Hanna.
Nordonia’s Enviro Club was able to divert 35 pounds, which is roughly ⅓ of the total waste produced during the Zero-Waste day, from heading towards the landfill, and it will instead be turned back into natural compost (soil) for the Akron Zoo to reuse throughout their facility! The club would like to thank all cafeteria, janitorial, and administrative staff members at Nordonia, all club members and students, and, of course, the Akron Zoo, for the massive support given for this project! In the future, Nordonia’s Enviro Club hopes to continue working with the school to find a greener, cleaner way of life, and with students to encourage advocacy for environmental health. They’re excited to ‘see you there’ for the upcoming school year and are ready to make real change in this world.
