With the press of a few commands displayed on a touch-screen monitor, Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School’s new composter whirred to life as the internal blades rotated inside the metal container and paddled leftover food inside. An earthy, vinegary-sweet odor quickly filled the air next to the machine.
The composter is managed by charter school juniors Augie Warner and Christian Hayes, and the young students are at the forefront of an issue that a coalition of people across the Island are striving for: reducing the Vineyard’s food waste by 70 percent by 2035.
Last Friday, the charter school showcased its EcoRich Elite II composter to a small crowd of students, faculty, and Island environmentalists. It’s the first school on the Vineyard to have its own on-campus composter, and other schools have started to follow suit.
