Turning Waste into Wonder

In the picture, the bucket contains food scraps such as vegetable peels and fruit skins, which the children are using to make compost. They are adding the scraps to a compost bin along with dried leaves, and one child is stirring the mixture. What I also noticed is that they are wearing gloves and using a proper container, so they are handling the waste hygienically.

I helped my grandmother grow curry leaves and pandan on the corridor outside our flat. My job was to water them every evening and to remove the yellow leaves. I learnt that plants can die from too much water as easily as too little, because I once overwatered the pandan and the roots started to rot. After that I checked the soil with my finger before watering, and the plants did much better.

Yes, I feel schools should teach it. Singapore throws away a huge amount of food waste every year, and composting shows students that this waste can become something useful instead of being burnt. It also makes science lessons real, because you can actually watch decomposition happening rather than only reading about it. Most importantly, students who compost in school often bring the habit home, so one lesson can change several households.