Have you ever wondered how much of what you throw away could be recycled? Students at Anderson County Middle School found out recently as part of a special presentation to celebrate a grant from the WalMart Foundation to Bluegrass PRIDE. The $45,000 grant was given to PRIDE to promote environmental responsibility through recycling in three central Kentucky counties, including Anderson County Schools.
“Bluegrass PRIDE is excited to partner with WalMart, Anderson County Schools and Anderson County Solid Waste,” Amy Sohner, Bluegrass PRIDE’s Executive Director said. “We look forward to working with them to help increase recycling rates throughout Anderson County and teach students and families the importance of recycling. Thank you very much to WalMart for giving us this opportunity.”
According to Maxine Rudder, Bluegrass PRIDE’s top priority for this project is to increase student learning and knowledge of waste reduction issues in Central Kentucky. Experiential environmental education about recycling and waste reduction can be taught in three main content areas: practical living, social studies and science.
Jason Wetzel, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations with WalMart, stressed that the donation is part of the company’s commitment to the communities where it operates stores.
Wetzel added, “At WalMart, our community involvement is based on the philosophy of operating globally and giving back locally. We believe we can do the most good by supporting issues and causes that are important to our customers and associates in their own neighborhoods – including programs that stress environmental sustainability and incorporating green practices into every day life. We are pleased that this donation to Bluegrass PRIDE will allow the Wastebusters Program to expand into Anderson County.”
The second goal of this project is to increase school-wide recycling. Currently, most of the schools targeted offer limited recycling programs. PRIDE will work to expand the existing programs by engaging classrooms, cafeterias, custodians, booster organizations and administration. To help ensure project sustainability, PRIDE will develop a resource manual for teachers focused on recycling, waste reduction, composting and litter abatement.
Superintendent of Anderson County Schools, Sheila Mitchell, said about the new partnership with PRIDE, “Implementing a recycling program in each of our schools provides our students with a great learning experience. We are grateful that Bluegrass PRIDE came to us with this opportunity to expand our recycling program district wide.”
Bluegrass PRIDE (Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment) is an environmental non-profit that has served 18 Central Kentucky counties since January 2002. The organization focuses on providing resources and information to local governments, organizations and individuals on water quality and solid waste issues and has developed and implemented a number of outreach programs specifically focused on waste reduction.
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