CLARK, NJ — Members of Valley Road Elementary School’s Student Council executive board were given an assignment to brainstorm ideas for a garbage can design.
“On any given day, a person could walk past the bathroom in the first-third hallway and see paper towels on the floor, which were such an eyesore, due to the type of garbage can being used in each bathroom,” said Sarah Badillo, Student Council advisor.
To fix this problem, the school purchased two heavy-duty garbage cans and then the executive board of Student Council, with guidance from art teacher Kerry Kennedy, got to work. Mia DeJesus, Joseph Blizniak, Joseph Elwardany and Leon Li came up with the idea of designing each garbage can to resemble Cookie Monster. When brainstorming, they discussed how the paper towels resembled cookies and that solidified what they wanted to design. Once the garbage cans were painted a few times, they were then introduced to the students who utilized that bathroom.
Badillo said, “If we just placed the garbage cans in there, many students would question why, so we decided to have members go into each class and briefly explain the why of the garbage cans and get excitement booming for these new additions to Valley Road. Now the bathrooms are looking much cleaner and show how teamwork can help improve an area of need.”
Photos Courtesy of Christine Casale Broski