FACC Meeting
June 19, 2009
Eric Villard

The Freedom Area Citizens' Council (FACC) stressed going green during their meeting Thursday evening at the South Carroll Senior Center.

Maria Myers, Carroll County's recycling manager, and Michael Eisenklam, principal of Eldersburg Elementary School, were present at the event to talk about eco-friendly practices. Bob Leatherwood, who recently started a pay-as-you-throw trash removal venture in South Carroll, was also present.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Myers gave a basic presentation on the dos and don'ts of recycling. While most of the information is available in great detail on the Carroll County recycling page (http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/recycle/default.asp), Myers brought up an interesting point - Styrofoam, commonly viewed as the bane of nature, can in fact be recycled. She said the problem that recycling agencies have is that such a large quantity of Styrofoam is needed (because of its extremely light weight) that it becomes infeasible to reuse it.

Recycling, she stressed, is extremely important. "We're looking to do as much as we can to get it [trash] out of the waste stream," she explained. "We do as much pushing and promoting as we can." Who should recycle? The short answer is everyone, but Myers has chosen to focus on the children. "We try to get them young," she joked.

Starting them young

Eldersburg Elementary recently received an Environmental Awareness Award from the Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council for its active involvement in environment education. The school has actively incorporated green lessons into its lesson plans, said Principal Eisenklam, to the point that the eco-friendly practices are second nature to the students.

"We've done a nice job integrating that into the curriculum," Eisenklam said.

From rain gardens to monarch butterfly nurseries, from butterfly gardens to books during story time that emphasize environmental awareness, Eldersburg has become an active participant in the green movement.

The school even has green parking spaces where only hybrid vehicles or carpoolers can park. While there are only a couple of spaces, Eisenklam said the main purpose was to raise awareness.

"You see them on the parking lot and the parent who buzzes through asks questions about them," he explained.

Watch your waste

Carroll County Waste Watchers, owned by Bob Leatherwood, is a pay-as-you-throw trash removal service offered in the South Carroll area. While he charges $2.50 for each bag, recycling materials are free to dispose of. In this way, he said, it encourages people to recycle more.

Leatherwood mentioned that he practices what he preaches. He said on the farm where he lives he uses geothermal and wind energy and composts. In the future he plans on growing crops organically.

"I'm not waiving a banner here - I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do," he said.

Since the service is centered in South Carroll, Leatherwood said he hoped it would bring some cohesion to what is often viewed as a disjointed community. "I think for a long time Eldersburg needed a feel of small town and not just a bunch of little communities living together."

Links:

Freedom Area Citizens' Council Web site: http://www.freedomareacitizens.org/

Carroll County Recycling Web site: http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/recycle/default.asp

Eldersburg Elementary School home page: http://www.carrollk12.org/ees/default.asp

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