Mill Valley Painted Bins Unveiling Speech

Good Afternoon everyone, my name is Lexi Lang-Heaven, and I'm in 5th grade, Strawberry Point, Mr. Gasparini’s class. And I drew an art piece for the compost bins in Mill Valley, and I strongly believe this is one of the things our planet needs most, and for good reason. You may notice that there are not public compost bins in most areas, open to everyone. Mostly just landfills, and recycle bins, which are wonderful too, but if you didn't know , food waste contributes to 1⁄3 of greenhouse gasses.

Greenhouse gasses are a gas that basically traps our earth like a rope around a rubber ball, which also traps heat. This is the cause of global warming. And that gas will keep suffocating our earth until it pops. Sorry if that was a bit dark, but it's true. So in other words, we gotta get that gas away from our home! 1⁄3 of greenhouse gasses are because of food waste, 1⁄3 is caused by electricity and power plants, and the last 1⁄3 is caused by methane, aka partly cow farts. This proves that 2⁄3 of greenhouse gasses are caused because of us, and 2/3rds may not seem like alot, but it actually is, considering our earth is pretty big. This also means, we are killing our home.

But the painted bins are trying to help! Compost bins are desperately needed on our planet. Because 2.5 billion tons of food are wasted a year. Blah, Blah, Math, Math, So in 10 years 20.55 billion tons of waste would be wasted by 2034, well that's only if we didn't start changing that soon! That's in 10 years, and I would be 21, ew. So I think it would be helpful, and everyone would appreciate it if we could all just taste it, and not waste it!

Landfills also include compost. Of course, some landfills, or dumpsters reuse and recycle, but sadly, most don’t. Landfills produce leachate and leachate is a horrid liquid, with all the nasty liquids that's in the trash, like nail polish, bleach,etc. And it's toxicating our streams, rivers, oceans, and

even the animals. For example, back in the 2000’s, hundreds of gophers, and squirrels were killed, just so they wouldn't consume the toxic water.

Another example of food waste hurting the animals are, our cute little Polar Bears up in the North pole! But polar bears are expected to go extinct by the year 2100! This is because when the polar bears go to get fish in the water, or meat on the land, they swim from one ice platform to another. But when the earth gets warmer and warmer because of global warming, the ice melts and becomes farther and farther away. Which causes the polar bears to drown and die, and sometimes even the cubs. To help the polar bears, you can donate to the Environmental Defense Fund. This little stuffy is an example. My family donated some money, and you can choose between a tote bag, a water bottle, or a stuffy like this!

If you save just a little bit of food, our planet could be alot more healthy, and we could even be happier, knowing that we won't have to worry in the future. And if 3 American cities could be saved in food waste, we would be able to give 68 million meals to people who don't have enough to eat, or none at all. As you can see, there are many benefits for composting.

Sorting our trash is important, but so is respecting the animals! They are the real rulers of our planet, not us. We just act like it, by tearing down the animals' homes, and putting up more for us, but that's another 5 minute speech. It's really rare to just see nature, because humans have taken over in a ruling way. There is barely any space for animals! We need to learn to be more grateful for our privileges, and rights. Having a healthy garden, animals around where you live, and having a compost bin in your home. These are all privileges, and can be taken away in a snap. But having compost bins in public areas should be a right. These little bins are so important you don't even know. NEVER take advantage of what our Earth has to give.

The concept for the painted bins is for local kids, to do art that will be put on bins all over the world, that will make the bins pop in color, and will encourage people to compost, or more than before.

So when you are alone, just go outside and observe. Look at the trees, the little birds that flutter in the sky. The bees pollinating the rainbow coated flowers and plants, The wind making the tree branches dance. The cotton candy clouds in the bright blue sky. Just take it all in, because who knows, if might not be like this forever.

Lexi Lang-Heaven, 5th grade, Strawberry Point Elementary, Mill Valley, CA

Delivered as a speech on June 8, 2024

To learn more about the importance of composting, click here.