PAGE 10 | INSIDE SANTA CLARA | SUMMER 2025
Turning a Pizza Box into Garden Gold How do you turn trash into treasure? Well in Santa Clara, we pride ourselves in turning our organic trash into beautiful compost or “garden gold.” But how does it work? We use mixed-waste processing to help keep food and organics out of the landfill. To better understand this process, let’s follow a greasy pizza box on its journey to becoming finished compost. Picture this: your family just devoured a piping-hot pizza—extra cheese, the works. The box is covered in grease and crumbs, so it can’t go in recycling. What do you do? Toss it in your black garbage cart! You’ve done your part. The next morning, the garbage truck arrives and takes your pizza box to a mixed- waste processing facility, where organic materials are separated from trash. This process helps keep as much waste as possible out of the landfill. That pizza box? It’s now one of many items ready to be transported and composted. At the composting facility, the pizza box, along with food scraps and yard waste, is shredded and placed in large tube-like bags where the material is aerated, monitored, screened, and cured. After four months, that greasy pizza box has transformed into garden gold. Some of that finished compost returns to Santa Clara and is distributed to residents during two annual compost giveaway events. That once-discarded pizza box will now have a second life, nourishing gardens throughout the city. Now that’s something to feel good about! So, don’t forget to do your part, use your cart, and pickup free compost at our next giveaway event.
That pizza box? It’s now one of many items ready to be transported and composted.
Behind the Smiles: Teen Library Leaders Advocate for Mental Health Awareness in the Community
Teens are more likely to open up when they feel safe, secure, and supported. That was the message that parents heard from a panel of teenagers at the Santa Clara City Library this spring. The Teen Library Leaders (TLL) program empowers young adults by fostering leadership skills through library events and initiatives. This year, TLL focused on the critical issue of teen mental health, which is often overlooked. Miraya, one of the Teen Leaders, explained her motivation for the project was to “open the topic of mental health between parents and teens, so that teens can get some support.” In collaboration with Santa Clara Unified School District, Santa Clara Cares,
and school wellness centers, TLL hosted and organized “Behind the Smiles: Shedding Light on Teen Mental Health” on March 19, 2025. The workshop featured District Social Worker Leah Cohan and a panel of teens sharing their personal stories. One of the teen panelists, Andrea, who has faced her own mental health challenges, urged parents, “Please don’t wait until your child’s mental health gets worse. Try to become the best friend your child needs. Listen to them.” Cohan’s insight provided a broader understanding of these teens’ experiences, highlighting the significance of active listening, awareness of body language, maintaining healthy sleep and screen-time habits, and fostering open, supportive discussions. The event drew 154 parents and teens eager to learn and engage in meaningful conversations about mental health. A recording of this program is available on Library’s YouTube channel. Building on this momentum TLL is now working on developing a Resource Board for the Central Park Library. This board will serve as a hub for teens to find valuable community and school district resources aimed at supporting their mental health.
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