When two students, one teacher, the EPA, Dublin City Schools and countless administrators come together in an effort to conserve energy, innovation happens. This was exactly the case almost one year ago at Dublin Jerome High School when it became the first public high school in the world to utilize a Grind2Energy waste disposal system.
This groundbreaking system recycles natural food waste into energy that the school can use for power. Then, the leftover scraps that can’t be recycled are sent off to be used as nutrient-dense fertilizer for farms around Ohio.
The project’s roots date back to 2017 in a class taught by Jerome biology and environmental science teacher Ashley Dulin-Smith. Dulin-Smith assigned the class its “legacy project,” in which students must implement a plan that will last in their school and benefit future students. Past legacy projects have included pioneering efforts to install water bottle filling stations, building gardens and working out irrigation systems.
Dulin-Smith had recently attended a presentation showcasing the Grind2Energy system in Cleveland, and offered it as a possibility to any interested students. Inspired, then senior Megan Bartsch and junior Kyra Hanes got to work.
“We knew we wanted to tackle the food waste issue in the cafeteria,” Bartsch says. “I can still remember back to a time when I watched a student throw away five perfectly fine whole apples. From that point on, I knew we had a waste problem.”
Throughout the school year, Bartsch and Hanes researched Grind2Energy to see if it was a viable option for Dublin Jerome. They reached out to the company through a series of phone calls and emails.
Reaching out was a major undertaking in itself as the company had never sent its equipment to a school; they’d previously focused on larger venues such as convention centers and stadiums.
Though apprehensive, the amount of waste Dulin-Smith and her students were able to gather
ultimately led the company to approve the project.
From there, Bartsh, Hanes and Dulin-Smith proposed the project to Dublin City Schools administration and were approved in 2018.
Though the project was progressing with flying colors, another four years would pass before the school would begin use of this new waste management plan.
After Bartsh and Hanes graduated, the project was left in the hands of Dulin-Smith. She continued to work with students and administrators to secure funding, and when students found an Ohio EPA grant perfect for the project, they got to work on a proposal.
Securing the funding was no easy undertaking, but after three years and several cycles of rejected submissions, the EPA awarded its grant to the project, which Jerome was required to match in order to meet eligibility.
The system was installed at the end of October 2021, and although it functions from a technical standpoint, the Jerome community is continuing to work together to properly utilize it.
Dulin-Smith works with a group of student volunteers each day to find waste they can turn into energy, and Dublin students are working together to figure out proper ways to dispose of their trash.
“It’s great that our students are so willing to help,” Dulin-Smith says. “I can vouch for the fact that it’s not glamorous: We wear aprons and gloves up to our elbows, and we’re digging through people’s waste. The kids that have helped actually see a benefit.”
She commends her students for always striving to make a difference.
“If people waste their food, (other students) are seeing it,” she says. “They’re the leaders that can go out there and say, ‘Hey, what are you doing with that?’ So it’s been great having these conversations and light bulb moments.”
The process has benefited the school across the board. Lunch staff even helped sort waste and are able to see what students finish and what they seem to discard.
Since October 2021, the intercepted waste has generated 1.1 kilowatt hours, which is more than enough to power an average home for a month. They have also saved the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that a car would generate by driving 9,300 miles.
Tyler Kirkendall is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at tkirkendall@cityscenemediagroup.com.
