Central TX schools recycle food scraps

BURNET, Texas (KXAN) - Burnet Consolidated Independent School District's food service department is implementing a new recycling program in their school cafeterias that includes recycling food scraps.

It's a program often overlooked by many Burnet Middle Schoolers who are mainly focused on the food lunch ladies are serving up each day.

"We are recycling food-prep scraps from the kitchen - leftovers like noodles and green beans," said Director of Food Service Pamela Holcomb.

The kitchen scraps, except for meat, which doesn't make the cut due to state law, are picked up by daily volunteers. The scraps are either used as gardening compost or fed to livestock on area farms and ranches.

"I don't have to water my grass as much," said Sherie Fowler, a gardener who occasionally picks up the food scraps. "I dont' have to water anything as much when you use compost. Plus, it puts added nutrients back into the ground."

Burnet schools also ditched Styrofoam lunch trays and bought reusable lunch trays last October.

"We threw out about 3,000 trays a day between breakfast and lunch," Holcomb explained.

Holcomb said the Styrofoam trays cost the school district about $20,000 last year. For the new trays, they only had to fork over a one-time fee of $15,000.

The trays did save the district money, but they're not saving time.

"We wash about 450 (trays) a day," said Beth Hinds, food service manager for BCISD schools. "It's a lot of work."

It's work Beth and other Burnet school officials said they're willing to take on in order to fulfill their goal of changing the world one tray full of food at a time.