Kickstart: Let them play

Rotomolder and playground equipment maker Landscape Structures Inc. of Delano, Minn., is playing a part in the story of elementary school students raising more than $300,000 to build an accessible playground.

NPR's Jonaki Mehta writes that when a teacher at Glen Lake Elementary School in the Minneapolis suburb of Hopkins won a grant to add a few pieces of accessible playground equipment, she urged fifth- and sixth- graders to get involved in raising the $35,000 in matching funds. Instead, the students decided all equipment should be available to everyone — a far more expensive project.

They hit that goal in a matter of weeks and now are shooting for $1 million to transform the playground. Landscape Structures, a supplier of both conventional and accessible playgrounds, hosted the students at its manufacturing site so they could see what their efforts will create.

Globally, reports say people doing street-level collection of recyclables recover more materials than curbside systems, bottle bills or other government-run waste management programs put together. And they'd like more help.

March 1 was International Waste Pickers Day, which groups representing the pickers marked with public events and calls for more support for the estimated 20 million people worldwide who comb through landfills and collect recyclables on streets.

The International Alliance of Waste Pickers, for example, said its members "play a major role in reducing plastic pollution and carbon emissions" by supporting recycling.

Waste picker organizations are also involved in the ongoing plastic treaty talks at the United Nations, where they've been seeking support.

"They recover plastic, food, clothes, paper and bottles that they can sell for much-needed income," IAWP officials said, noting that one landfill in Nairobi supports 3,000 waste picker families.

Thanks to PN's Steve Toloken for this item.
 

No, not that office — although the photo is handy representation of a stereotypical office water cooler and a water cooler conversation.

Numbers related to the use of water coolers and those big 5-gallon plastic jugs of bottled water may provide anecdotal evidence to back up return-to-the-office trends.

Bevi, a Boston-based maker of high-end "smart" water coolers for offices, says its statistics show that demand for its products are anywhere between 39 percent and 62 percent compared with the pre-COVID height of 2019.

The company noted in a blog post that it can further dive into its numbers to show that its internet-connected machines are used more often Tuesday through Thursday, backing up other reports showing companies adopting a hybrid office routine with people spending only part of each week at the office. (Unsurprisingly, Bevi says that perks like its "hydration machines" are a good incentive to get people to come in to the office.)