2nd grader wins President's Environmental Youth Award

Kady McKenna, 7, founded eTreasure, Inc.

ORLANDO, Fla. – A lesson on using resource wisely inspired a local second grader to help reduce eWaste in the environment.

Kady McKenna, 7, founded the non-profit corporation eTreasure, Inc. after a conversation with her mom, Jennifer McKenna, following a Girl Scout meeting.

"My mom was driving me home from a Girl Scout meeting and we just talked about using resources wisely. So that got me thinking, 'Where do all the old iPads and old electronics go? And what about cell phones?'" McKenna said.

The motto of eTreasure, Inc. is: "I recycle old electronics to keep them out of landfills, because eWaste is the fastest growing trash in our landfills."

Kady's conversation with her mom got her mom to think of older electronic items in her home.

"I never really thought about that much before. We just threw them in an old junk drawer in the house," Jennifer McKenna said.

Many of those devices end up in landfills if they are not recycled, causing pollution of air, water and soil.

Each American household has 24 electronic products, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.


"She would not accept that answer. She did not understand why people would hurt the environment," Jennifer McKenna said.

"Why didn't we recycle paper, plastic, and glass like we do in our classrooms. I didn't know why we didn't do it, maybe we should," Jennifer McKenna said, when Kady proposed the idea of doing something about eWaste.

eTreasure, Inc. was born.

The name was inspired by the phrase, "One man's trash is another man's treasure," Jennifer McKenna, Kady's mom, said.

eTreasure, Inc. has collection drives for old electronics to ensure that the items do not end up in landfills. Some items are able to be refurbished and are given back to the community. 

The collection drives included Kady's school, Northlake Park Community School, and The Parke House Academy.

Her family is also helping with her non-profit.

The night before our interview, Kady told News6  that her 6-year-old sister, 4-year-old sister, and 2-year-old  brother helped her weigh old electronics that will be donated.

A total of 1,050 pounds of electronics were weighed, ranging from cellphones, printers, keyboards and mouses.

In 2009, the EPA estimated that 2.37 million tons of eWaste  was accumulated by U.S. consumers and business.

This included "discarded televisions, computers, cellphones and hard copy peripherals (including printers, scanners, faxes)," the Environmental Protection Agency said.

Jennifer helped Kady fill out the application for the Environmental Protection Agency award. It took several weeks, but they were notified that Kady had been selected as the EPA's Region 4 K-5 winner.

"I was like, 'Wow,' this is amazing because this is my biggest award that I have won in my entire life. This is probably my most important award that I have won so far and so when my mom told me 10 kids in the United States won, I was very proud," Kady said about her prestigious award.

Kady was honored in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 16.

“These teacher and student winners are exemplary leaders, committed to strong environmental conservation and tackling problems, including landfill waste and climate change head-on,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

“Environmental education cultivates our next generation of leaders by teaching them how to apply skills in creativity and innovation. I have no doubt that teachers and students like these will someday solve some of our most complex and important issues," McCarthy continued.

The trip to the United States capitol was enlightening to Jennifer as well.

"The thing that I learned while we were in D.C. were the projects of the other children that were selected to receive the President's Environmental Youth Award. I really learned a lot about different problems that children can solve."

"We underestimate what children can do if we just listen to them. Then, as adults, just help them develop the ideas with the skills that we have. They can do amazing things," Jennifer McKenna said.

Jennifer McKenna has many hopes and plans for eTreasure, Inc.

"Through our collection drives, to actually be able to re-purpose and provide tablets for free to every school in Orange County," she said.

Her next step now is to learn how to be an advocate for this issue and talk to some lawmakers to make this change for our state.

Kady's vision  for the future of her company and her career are endless.

"We will never lose technology, but we will lose our planet if we do not take care of it," Kady said.

"I would like to be Miss America, a Broadway star, a Girl Scout leader, and I might want to be a news reporter too," she continued.

For more information about eTreasure, Inc., go to http://www.etreasure.us/