Dive Brief:

• Students at an elementary school in Nebraska composted 90% of food waste from the cafeteria. The school has the highest diversion rate in the district because the staff encouraged the students to make smart choices that include not choosing food items that are packaged.
• Sheridan Elementary School is participating in a pilot program launched in the school district on March 17. Four other schools in the district are also participating in the program. It is scheduled to expand to nine elementary schools this year.
• Lincoln, NE Public Schools, working with Prairieland Dairy, has composted more than 115,000 pounds of cafeteria waste.

Dive Insight:

The elementary students have discarded an average of 150 pounds of food scraps daily, with about 18 pounds of waste being sent to the landfill. 

According to Brittney Albin, the sustainability coordinator for the school district, the students were taught that actions that take place in the cafeteria connect to concepts like methane gas, reducing waste at landfills and helping the environment.