Howard County’s Pointers Run Elementary School became the first public school in the county to launch a food scrap collection program, which was inspired by letters from a 4th grade class last year.
Coverage from the Baltimore Sun noted,
Students in teacher Deborah Hantman’s class wrote persuasive notes to county government and school system officials asking them to consider including their school in the county’s food scrap composting program, which had expanded to the surrounding Clarksville community in November.
“It would be great if the students could get some kind of response so they know that their letters were received and that they have the power to make a difference,” Hantman wrote in her own letter.
The county did respond, and Pointers Run students will now see bright yellow food scrap collection bins next to the recycling and trash bins in the cafeteria. Teachers will also have a composting bin in the staff lounge.
“The students here… realized that practicing waste reduction at school is just as important as at home,” County Executive Ken Ulman said at the program’s launch on Monday, the first day of school. “We agree. Their efforts show that it doesn’t take long for good ideas to catch on and become part of everyday behavior.”
