RSU 22’s district-wide composting initiative has officially come full circle — quite literally — with the arrival of three yards of finished compost from their local recycling partner 1 Earth Composting.
The district launched its composting program in the fall of 2025 across all six schools, transforming the way cafeteria waste is handled. Each day kitchen scraps and leftover food are collected and sent to the composting center, rather than tossed into the regular trash. That shift now diverts approximately 1,500 pounds of material each week, waste that previously went straight to the landfill.
This spring marks the program’s first major milestone: the return delivery of nutrient-rich compost created from the students’ and staff’s own food waste. The material will be put to work in school gardening projects, closing the loop on a full year of sustainable practice.
To help students visualize the impact of their efforts, jars of the finished compost will be displayed in each school cafeteria, offering a tangible reminder that their daily choices add up to something meaningful.
RSU 22 consists of schools from Hampden and Winterport.