Marlboro Middle School students in James Ventriglia and Erin Nagel’s People and the Planet elective recently rolled up their sleeves for an exciting Food Audit to explore how the cafeteria can become more eco-friendly.
After lunch, these dedicated Dukes suited up in aprons, gloves, and safety goggles to dive into the day's waste. They sorted everything into categories—food scraps, plastic, paper, milk cartons, and more—and weighed each pile to see where improvements could be made.
What did they find?
• Total Daily Waste: 147.5 lbs
• Food Scraps: 70 lbs
• Plastic: 9 lbs
• Milk Cartons: 13 lbs
• Bottles/Cans: 1.5 lbs
• Compostable Items: 13 lbs
• Paper: 21 lbs
This hands-on activity is helping students uncover actionable ways to reduce waste and promote sustainability. Next up, the class will be analyzing the data and developing recommendations to present to the District’s Food Services Department.
Stay tuned for updates as these future environmental leaders take steps toward a greener school!