Gordon composts

above: Gordon has been composting on-campus food waste since last winter. Now the school is offering a composting site for staff, faculty and families.

Dear families, faculty and staff,

Did you know that, in the U.S., food is the single most common material sent to landfills, comprising about 25% of municipal solid waste? Recognizing the importance of tackling food loss and waste, the EPA and USDA announced the first-ever national goal to reduce food loss and waste by 50% by the year 2030. 

Have you been eager to try food composting as a family, but don’t know where to start? Gordon can help! 

I recently received feedback from a Gordon community member about the lack of personal access to composting in their community and the desire for a centralized composting location. With this inspiration in mind, I am proud to announce a new partnership with Bootstrap Compost that offers all Gordon community members access to a compost drop off location at Gordon at a price that is significantly less than most neighborhood programs. 

Gordon will provide a centralized location on campus where you can bring your home compost, during daylight hours, seven days a week. Collection will begin on November 27, 2023. If you are interested in this program, here is the sign up form. Once you have registered with Bootstrap, you will receive a passcode to unlock the community compost bin. The community compost bin will be located next to the maintenance garage, within the dumpster area adjacent to Gordon’s large parking lot.

Gordon is the first school in Rhode Island to participate in this program through Bootstrap Compost. For those community members who compost at home or use another service provider, please do not feel obligated to participate. Registration for this service is now open and you can check out Bootstrap’s FAQ page for details on what you can place in your bin. 

I hope you are excited about this initiative and we look forward to hearing feedback on how the program is working.

Cushman Gillen
Fifth and sixth grade science
Gordon's Green Dean