Dylan Tuttle

Six-year-old Dylan Tuttle was recognized for being an environmental visionary and for voicing the need to Recycle Right during the Annual Waste Diversion and Recycling Awards Ceremony held virtually in December 2020. His story has been making waves to prove that age is just a number! Read more about his project and his passion, in our Green Scene Newsletter. We also had the pleasure of sitting down with him and his sister, speaking about their excitement for pollinators, and mother Meaghan, encouraging parents to foster children's love of learning. Read the Living Green blog on the Prince George's Proud page here.  

The award ceremony is a focal part of the Prince George’s County’s Beautification Initiative, the Department of the Environment’s Resource Recovery Division’s Recycling Section in partnership with Keep Prince George’s County Beautiful. Nominations were accepted from the public for those individuals or groups who have demonstrated exceptional achievements in recycling, waste diversion, and overall beautification of the County. To learn more about the Waste Diversion and Recycling Awards, contact Helen Register at htregister@co.pg.md.us.

Lore Rosenthal

Born in Baltimore, MD, Lore Rosenthal became an advocate for the environment when she desired to live her life more simply. Lore began learning about sustainable living through reading and became inspired to make a difference in her life, including the community where she lives. Motivated by Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” in 2006, she learned about global warming and climate change. From that blueprint, the Greenbelt Climate Action Network was born, and Ms. Lore started organizing in the county and hosted six-week discussion circles on lowering our carbon footprint.

Lore attended Baltimore City public schools and went on to study at an Ivy League University.  She continued her studies in Deaf Education.  After 10 years teaching deaf children, she became an adult educator, first in an English as a Second Language (ESL) program for deaf adults, and later in an interpreter training program.  

Now, a 13-year resident of Prince George’s County, Ms. Rosenthal has turned her interest to educating adults about climate change, sustainable lifestyle solutions, and systemic changes we can all be a part of. Her commitment to making a difference has resulted in her initiating several projects on the community, municipal, county, and state levels, including:

• DC Metro Pachamama Alliance - presenting introductory workshops on “Introduction to Drawdown: Reversing Global Warming”;
• Simplicity Matters Earth Institute - Educating adults about sustainable choices;
• Howard County Climate Action - moving county residents into action on climate change;
• Greenbelt Climate Action Network - monthly educational meetings, also supporting statewide advocacy projects;
• Greenbelt Community Solar - 34 investors who purchased solar panels for a local Baptist Church, and sell them the electricity at a discounted price;
• Greenbelt Neighborhood Compost Project - 60 families share a 3-bin compost system and engage in monthly workdays to turn and later sift the compost; and
• Maryland Compost Advocacy Coalition: over 100 organizations and individuals working together to pass state legislation on composting.

Lore Rosenthal believes individuals can make a difference.  “In this day and age, individual lifestyle changes are no longer enough.  However, if an individual can bring together a local group of interested residents to accomplish something together, the sky is the limit,” said Ms. Rosenthal.

Daryl Braithwaite 

Mr. Braithwaite spearheads the City of Takoma Park’s food waste curbside collection program. In the 2013 pilot program, 1,200 households volunteered to participate. Through a successful partnership with the Prince George’s County Organics Composting Facility, the food waste curbside collection program is now offered to all single-family homes in Takoma Park, with more than 300 tons of waste diverted annually! Daryl was recognized for this collaboration at the Annual Waste Diversion and Recycling Awards Ceremony held virtually in December 2020.

Prince George’s County maintains curbside food scrap collection services to residents who participated in the 2017 Piloted Food Scrap Composting Program. In efforts to maintain an aggressive approach with improving recycling and waste diversion rates, the County will expand the Food Scrap Composting Program to an additional 3,000 households this fiscal year. Learn more about the County curbside organics collection program by clicking here. 

Norberto Martinez

Norberto Martinez is the founder and Executive Director of the Langley Park Civic Association. His love for his community shows as he and his team have organized clean-ups, planted trees, distributed meals, financial assistance, and toys to families impacted by COVID-19, and so much more. From starting Langley Park Day to becoming an official nonprofit organization, Norberto's dedication knows no bounds. 

If you have a dream of improving your community like Norberto, check out this PGC Proud blog post with tips to get you started!

Bill Walmsley

Bill Walmsley has been an active community member and avid litter-picker-upper for over a decade. He began his work battling centuries of heavy pollution and litter in the Patuxent River, from Baltimore, MD, to Washington, D.C.  Bill started picking up trash along the trail he walks his dog every day, and since 2-12, he has been recording how much he picks up daily. Find out how much he's collected, and more of his story, in this Living Green blog post on the PGC Proud website. 

City of Hyattsville Food Scraps Program

The City of Hyattsville Food Scraps Composting Program experienced rapid growth from 40 participating residents in 2015 to rolling out citywide in 2020. Residents are now supplied with compost buckets, countertop containers, and biodegradable composting bags. Their food scrap collection is done weekly. They received recognition at the 2020 Waste Diversion and Recycling Awards ceremony for the municipality's implementation of this curbside collection program. Learn more about the benefits of food scrap composting by watching this video.

The City bolsters many programs in protection of the planet and our environment. Check out this PGC Proud blog post with Dawn Taft, Manager of Environmental Programs, with some great gardening advice, such as which native plants to choose and which plant to avoid. 

Randy Bolt

Randy Bolt was also honored at our 2020 Waste Diversion and Recycling Awards ceremony for dedicating over 21 years to composting while working for the Maryland Environmental Service (MES) at the Prince George’s County Organics Composting Facility (OCF). Over 500,000 cubic yards of compost were produced under Randy’s watch as the facility Field Operations Supervisor over the last ten years. 

The OCF is the largest municipal composting facility on the East Coast! For more than 26 years, Prince George’s County has owned and managed the 200+ acre, Organics Composting Facility. The OCF turns yard waste and food scraps into a nutrient-rich compost known as Leafgro® and Leafgro GOLD®. These soil nutrients help promote healthy plants, reduce soil erosion and eliminate the need for chemical-based fertilizers. Learn more about the County's Organics Composting Facility by clicking here.