PHOENIX — Although 'Earth Day' is Saturday, April 22, one Valley teenager treats every day as Earth Day.
Sixteen-year-old Abigail Pearson, a junior at Xavier College Prep in Phoenix, started a curbside composting program in her neighborhood back in late 2021.
She encouraged her neighbors near the Phoenix Country Club to not throw out their coffee grounds, banana peels or leftover pineapples, but instead put them into buckets that she then takes to the Pierson Street Community Garden at 19th Avenue and Camelback Road.
Pearson hopes that giving back will inspire others like her to start a program like this.
"It shows that sometimes creating a lifestyle change can be very daunting to people," she said. "I think that the message behind curbside compost is that it's much simpler than you think."
She and 25 of her neighbors have recycled 1,300 gallons of organic material so far.
Pearson's efforts haven't gone unnoticed as she is one of the Junior Achievement of Arizona's '18 Under 18' for being entrepreneurial in her thinking, being a good leader, and giving back.
