Go Green

Volunteer – Lunch and Composting

SIGN UP on the Bowman Volunteer Opportunities and see instructions for composting below:

• Lunch Shift 1 (Grades K-2): 10:50am – 12pm
• Lunch Shift 2 (Grades 3-4): 12pm – 1:05pm

Did you know there are only 143 days of lunch this year? If every family volunteered at ONE lunch shift this year – we would have all of the lunches covered! Schedule something on your lunch calendar now to see your student(s) at lunch. Considering surprising them by volunteering on their birthday or any other day!

Since starting at Estabrook in 2004, LPS Green Teams has grown into a grassroots alliance of parents, staff, and students representing all Lexington public schools. Green Team is passionate about promoting practices of waste prevention and reduction.  

Please sign up to be a Lunch Volunteer to encourage and educate our students on composting leading to a healthier environment.  

Since February 2019, Bowman students across all grades have been composting their school lunch trays and food waste instead of trashing them! This initiative has also been going on at all the other Lexington elementary and middle schools, and our experience has shown that up to 75% of trash/waste generated during lunch periods are compostable paper goods (trays, napkins) and food!  This waste is now being ‘recycled’, i.e. turned into nutrient rich soil for local farms and gardens, instead of going to a landfill/incinerator. Bowman staff and caregivers have been very “excited” and “proud” to see how well our students have been practicing such environmental stewardship; our parent volunteers have described their experience as “fun!”

Come join the FUN! We still need some more parent volunteers to help direct students in the proper way to sort their lunch waste. Not only would you be supporting the school, but it’s a great opportunity to see what goes on during lunchtime.

Contact Green Team
[email protected]

Indoor composting (see picture to the right):

• Setup (first lunch) – see the picture on the right.
  • Push the cart out from the wall and set up according to the table.  Disposable gloves maybe e located on the cart or on a side table in the cafeteria.
  • Custodian(s) will have a compost bin and trash cans ready. 
  • Custodian(s) will provide the liquids bucket for pouring in liquids (milk, juice, water).
  • Custodian(s) will provide water in the dirty plastics bucket to rinse plastics for recycling.  Please add a few drops of soap to the water.
• Milk and juice cartons go into the trash: If there is a bucket there for liquids – dump the liquids (This minimizes trash weight and a lot of leakage in the garbage.)
• Ask student(s) to open their trays.
• Trash all plastic, packets, and non-compostables from their trays. Especially look out for small packets (ketchup, sauce, syrup) that need to go in the trash.
• Wash and recycle plastic.
  • Fruit cups – students have to open the cups, dump the food in compost, and then trash the container & lid.
  • Carrots are in plastic bags – you can open the bag and dump the carrots in and then trash the plastic bag. 
  • Any very sticky/dirty (example yogurt cups, “apple pie” cups) can be put in the trash instead of trying to clean them.
• Then ask students to dump the contents of their tray and stack it on the table.
  • Most utensils are compostable from the cafe, marked “Compostable”.  Watch out for utensils brought from home – they are generally not compostable.
  • There is also a Utensil bin students can place utensils and we can sort through it to double check if you would like.
• UNOPENED FOOD (Optional): for any unopened or whole food, please place it in the “unopened food bin”.
  • Would only do this if there are 2 volunteers at lunch.
  • Ideally between every lunch, please take to the staff lounge, wash with soap and water in the sink.  Then dry with paper towels and put it in the staff fridge.
  • Good examples are milk containers, whole fruit, sealed yogurt cups, cheese sticks, etc. Any of the plastic cups that could be opened and closed again, please dispose of normally.
  • Otherwise, you will have to open and dump the food and trash/recycle the container.
  • Volunteers on Monday – please dispose of any expired food from the prior week from the staff lounge
• If you are in doubt – throw it in the trash!
• At the end of all of the lunches (after the 3rd grade lunch) — all of the trays go into the compost bin.
• Push the cart against the wall.