As of mid-January, Marblehead's Public Schools and the Board of Health had entered into a collaborative recycling program that has seen food waste from cafeterias and other organic material usually sent to the town's transfer station diverted to a local farm for composting.

Marblehead’s Village School, Veterans Middle School and High School are the first schools to implement “Don’t Dump Lunch” program. Students are separating their organic waste, such as uneaten food, napkins and cardboard, into containers provided by the Board of Heath. Boards of Health officials expect this program to cut food waste sent to the transfer station by 50 percent.
“By diverting food waste from our waste stream, the town of Marblehead is also engaging in an important climate-change strategy by reducing the amount of material that is going to the waste-to-energy incinerator,” Board of Health member Michele Gottlieb said.

Read more: From cafeteria to compost: Marblehead schools diverting food waste - Marblehead, MA - Marblehead Reporter