Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Emergency Burn Ban In Effect 10/26/24 - An emergency burn ban is now in effect for all Connecticut State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Management areas, prohibiting the use of all outdoor grills, firepits, and campfires, and the kindling and use of flame outdoors. DEEP and local agencies are working to contain several active fires across the state. Please avoid all affected State Parks and Forests, as well as the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail. The Enduro Trail in Voluntown and portions of North Stonington within the Pachaug State Forest are closed at this time. Please note that today's forest fire danger report remains at a 'very high' or 'extreme' level. More information about the current fire danger, burn ban and recommended safety measures can be found here

School Composting…The Next Step in Recycling
A Manual for Connecticut Schools

photograph of a series of outdoor composting bins in use at Mansfield Middle SchoolThis manual, written specifically for K-12 schools, outlines the steps necessary for establishing and maintaining a successful school-wide composting program for cafeteria food scraps. The manual, published in 2002, is written by and based on the experiences of a group of dedicated educators who have developed the composting program at Mansfield Middle School. We are grateful to the Town of Mansfield for the groundbreaking work that they have done in both implementing a model school recycling and composting program, and producing this manual.

The Connecticut DEEP funded the production of the manual to provide a model for Connecticut schools…to help them reduce their waste steam, increase recycling, and to teach students about responsible waste management and the environmental advantages of composting. In the manual you will find strategies for initiating a compost plan, bin design, routine steps of the composting operation, promotional activities, as well as an exhaustive section on lessons and resources. Specific information about what worked well at Mansfield Middle School has been incorporated throughout the manual in special call-out boxes.

For waste reduction purposes, the manual has only been reproduced in electronic format. It is available to download from this website as a PDF document.  A CD-ROM of the manual has been mailed to every Connecticut public and private K-12 school. It is our hope, after reviewing the manual, that educators at Connecticut schools will become proactive and expand their recycling program to include composting of food scraps. If they take the next step in recycling, this manual will prove to be an integral and valuable resource.

Download the manual:

School Composting…the Next Step in Recycling. A Manual for Connecticut Schools

Composting

Content Last Updated February 14, 2020