To those already educated about composting, the benefits are obvious: You’re transforming a certain type of waste into a usable product.

With any kind of lesson, however, it’s best to get started young. That’s why we see such promise with what’s happening in the Greenfield Public Schools.

Greenfield High School has now incorporated composting at its cafeteria, joining the Discovery School at Four Corners and the Math and Science Academy in finding ways to make use of the waste created during meal time.

After eating, students take what’s left of their meal and make a deposit in the appropriate bin: One for food scraps, one for liquids, one for utensils and one for trash. The result of this separation is twofold.

One, the food waste can be taken to Martin’s Farm in Greenfield, a longtime producer of compost, where it will over the course of several months become what’s called “black gold, ” a rich dark compost that growers love.

Second, removing materials that can be composted reduces the amount of waste that the school has to pay to dispose of as trash. That means the schools are contributing less to landfills, and in the process presenting Greenfield with a smaller bill for getting rid of its trash. Add to that recycling efforts for cans, bottles, containers and even aluminum foil, and the reduced amount of trash is quite apparent.

According to Amy Donovan, the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District’s program director, “Four Corners’ fourth-graders weighed the compost and trash from the kitchen and cafeteria for a week and the results were amazing: 273 pounds of compost, 101 pounds of trash and 10 gallons of recycling.”

It’s not just Donovan who is proud of the effort. Marguerite Rancourt’s fourth-grade students shared their thoughts on what’s been happening at Four Corners. Their remarks demonstrate an understanding of what they’re doing and its importance. As one student, Lorelei wrote, “I am proud that my school is working so hard to help the environment. I am especially proud of my class because groups of kids go and help kids do composting breakfast through all the lunches …”

Besides knowing they are helping the environment and the town, the fourth-graders see that they’re making an important connection with younger students in school. Said another student, Hugh, “It is also really fun to help the little kids because they look up to us.”

With such pride and enthusiasm in our schools around composting — 15 Franklin County schools are now involved in the waste district’s program — there’s a good chance that their interest and involvement will continue long after they’ve grown up. That bodes well for them, their community and the earth.