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Duties and Responsibilities

Building Services Staff

  • Rinse SMART Recycling compost carts as soon as possible following pickups.  Rinsing the cart for approximately 20 seconds with warm water will keep the sides of the cart free of food debris, prevent odors, and act as a lubricant when the full cart is tipped by SMART.  DO NOT use any unapproved chemicals to clean the inside of the cart.  Unapproved chemicals will damage the lining and contaminate compostable material.  Coffee grounds, cinnamon, and/or baking soda can be used to improve odor issues but the best odor prevention will be consistent rinsing.

  • Set up waste disposal stations with appropriate “Landfill Waste,” “Commingled Recycling,” and “Compost” containers. It is recommended that the Landfill container is a 55-gallon Brute container; Commingled Recycling is a blue Rubbermaid recycling container; Compost container is the 64-gallon roll cart provided by SMART.
  • Ensure proper signage is posted near respective container.
  • Remove landfill waste bag as needed and replace can liner.
  • Remove commingled recycling as needed and deposit in green HCSWA commingled recycling container.
  • Exchange compost container with clean, rinsed compost container when approximately 85% full.
  • Following lunch servings, place full compost containers outside in designated area for pickup. Please ensure that the locking mechanism is fully engaged and the lid is sealed.
  • If a composting cart has been damaged, the locking mechanism is not working properly, or any other feature of the cart is not performing as expected, please post a sign to this cart indicating the defective feature so that SMART can fix or replace the cart.

Dining Services Staff

  • Place a clean, rinsed composting container in the kitchen area.

  • Post kitchen signage in visible areas detailing cart maintenance and compostable items.
  • During food prep, collect all compostable food scraps and put them in the SMART Recycling compost container.
  • Collect all parchment paper, waxy cardboard, and paper towels and deposit them in the compost containers.
  • Rinse “Landfill Trash” buckets and place them in a designated area of the cafeteria to be used by students.

What to do if….

SMART Recycling is late for pickup.

All of your carts are full, breakfast is about to begin, and the truck has not yet arrived to tip your compost containers.  In this circumstance, it is important to maintain the procedures that have been put in place so students will continue to separate waste into landfill, recycling, and compost.  Use a 55-gallon Brute container or other landfill waste container with a liner as a “dummy container” in place of the compost container provided by SMART.  Please open a SchoolDude work order for Recycling and indicate that pickup has not yet occurred and the issue will be promptly investigated.

Dining Services needs to use Styrofoam trays.

Employees get sick and sometimes a replacement can’t be found in time, dishwashing machines and other equipment fail, or other extenuating circumstances occur when Styrofoam trays need to be used in the cafeteria in place of the reusable plastic trays.  In circumstances such as these, maintain the procedures in place and have students stack trays in the dish window as they normally would.  Students should not abandon the composting efforts because Styrofoam needs to be used. 

A container’s locking mechanism or other feature is broken or defective.

Determine what part of the cart is not functioning properly.  The most typical problems are wheels or locking mechanisms that are stuck or broken.  Many times, the lock or wheel simply needs to be lubricated with something such as WD-40 and it can be repaired by HCS staff.  If the problem cannot be solved with an easy fix, record the problem and the cart number (located on the inside of the lid), post a visible flyer on the top of the cart indicating that it is malfunctioning and briefly describe the problem so others will be aware of the issue, and open a SchoolDude work order for Recycling with this information.  The information will be passed on to SMART Recycling so it can be repaired or the cart can be replaced as soon as possible.

All of the carts are full and we are still serving students.

Similar to a late pickup, it is important to maintain the procedures that have been put in place so students will continue to separate waste into landfill, recycling, and compost.  Use a 55-gallon Brute container or other landfill waste container with a liner as a “dummy container” in place of the compost container provided by SMART.  Please open a SchoolDude work order for Recycling indicating that all containers were filled prior to completion of lunch servings.  This may be an issue with containers being swapped too soon during servings or more carts may be necessary to satisfy the needs of your school.

Compost carts are rolling away from the designated area due to slope or wind.

The two large wheels and two caster wheels provide easy maneuverability but carts have “wandered” from their designated area, especially when empty and strong winds are present in an open area.  If this occurs, determine if the carts are located in an ideal area.  If another location exists that provides better coverage from wind, simply move them.  Schools that have had this issue have fastened line in two locations on a wall to tie up the carts or placed a wooden 2x4 on the ground to create a corral.  If this issue is present, please open a SchoolDude work order for Recycling to notify Facilities of the issue for follow up.