Pikeville student outlines proposal to Kentucky lawmakers on reducing waste in schools

A Kentucky student has a plan for state lawmakers to reduce waste in schools and increase recycling. 

Anikaa Sharma, a Pikeville High School student, told legislators on the Education Committee Tuesday about a bill proposal to update state laws to reflect a modern list of recyclables and divert food waste to local composting facilities. She was joined by Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville. 

In addition to reducing waste, the changes in the proposal would also prepare Kentucky students with habits to take through adulthood, Sharma said. 

“If we want the next generation of our state to be responsible in adulthood, then I think it’s important that we start within schools for the most effective change,” she said. 

In her presentation, Sharma explained that a state law created in 1998 already directs school boards to adopt recycling plans but it only covers white paper and cardboard. 

According to a draft copy of a bill, Sharma’s proposal would direct school boards to adopt plans for additional recycling materials like aluminum cans and to divert food waste for composting. The proposal also calls for school boards to stop purchasing expanded polystyrene trays by July 2028 and consider how to educate students and staff about recycling. Boards that cannot acquire an alternative tray without a negative financial impact would be exempted from the purchasing restrictions in the bill. 

Citing data from the Kentucky Department of Education, Sharma said Kentucky schools annually use about 74 million expanded polystyrene trays, or white foam trays. Kentucky schools also create about 17 million pounds of food waste annually. Sharma added that studies have shown styrene from the foam trays can leak into hot food. 

“I think it’s reasonable to ask when we’re serving millions of students’ meals every single year, is this the correct product to be using when, after one use it stays in a landfill for centuries, and it can transfer chemicals into our food,” Sharma said. 

While lawmakers could not vote on the proposal during the interim session, legislators on the committee seemed receptive to the idea. Rep. Lisa Willner, D-Louisville, said the idea was in line with a resolution lawmakers passed earlier this year declaring Kentucky as a “Food is Medicine” state. 

“If we’re poisoning our kids’ food in schools, that’s a big issue,” Willner said to Sharma. “And so thank you for tackling that.” 

Wheeler said Sharma worked with the Legislative Research Commission on the proposal.  

“I don’t think that there could have been a better product that would really adapt to everything, from the smallest district to the largest district, to try to come up with a solution,” he said. 

The Kentucky General Assembly returns to Frankfort in January for the 2027 legislative session.