Recycling Pilot Program Turns Students into ‘Cafeteria Rangers’
(DNAINFO) Lisha Arino — Local schoolchildren are helping the environment — by keeping an eye on their trash.
Students from P.S. 34 on East 12th Street have spent the school year serving as “Cafeteria Rangers,” overseeing lunchroom recycling and waste disposal as part of a pilot program that’s helped slash the amount of garbage schools send to landfills.
“They own the program, they take on these leadership roles…and the whole goal is rather than somebody telling students what to do, the students themselves actually own the recycling program,” said Debby Lee Cohen, the executive director and founder ofCafeteria Culture which developed the program.
At the beginning of the school year, Cafeteria Culture taught students garbage and recycling basics, focusing not only on how to separate trash properly, but also the ways sending refuse to landfills or incinerators could affect local communities and the environment.