Cole Rasenberger's quest to save forests in the US South started as a school assignment to 'be an activist' about something important to him. However, after learning from Dogwood Alliance that coastal forests in North Carolina are being destroyed to make throw-away paper packaging for big fast food companies—such as McDonalds and KFC—Cole Rasenberger, at the age of 8, became more than an activist; he became an environmental leader!
From left to right: Cole Rasenberger, Nik Young, Liam Donoghue, and Kaela Rasenberger visit KFC headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky to drop off 6,000 postcards advocating for KFC to use post recyclable fiber in their throwaway paper containers.
He started by targeting McDonalds directly. With the help of 25 friends, and his elementary school administration, he got every student in his school to sign postcards to McDonalds. In all, Cole sent 2,250 postcards to McDonalds.
"I asked my principal and teacher if I could get my whole school to sign my postcards. I told them I am only one voice; if we get my school to sign it would be thousands of voices. I think that would be better than just me," Cole says, telling mongabay.com how he was able to get his whole school to join in his activism. "McDonalds is always doing things for kids, so I thought it would be a great place to start. I drew handmade postcards of animal habitats. […] I asked McDonald to be the environmental leader for my generation and please increase your use of post consumer recycled fiber."
Not long after receiving the postcards, McDonalds announced it would soon be switching their bags to 100 percent recycled paper.
But Cole, who won the 2010 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes for his activism, was not yet done: "The reason KFC was my next choice was because they are such a big company," he says. "They don’t use much post consumer recyclable fibers in their paper products. If we could get them to use even a little bit, it would save a lot of trees. If KFC and McDonald become the Environmental Leaders for my generation, everyone else will follow."
This time Cole and his friends got 6,000 postcards signed. Then Cole, his sister, Kaela, and two friends, Nik and Liam, flew to KFC headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky to deliver the letters in person. Two KFC executives met with the children; they did not commit to changing their paper sourcing policies, but gave the kids $5 gift cards for KFC.
Cole says he understands that it is difficult for KFC to quickly change their policies.
"They are a huge company and huge companies can't make decisions fast. They have so many people that have to OK things before it’s approved. […] The KFC executives were wonderful to us. They were very kind people. I look at our trip as an opportunity to open doors for future environmental changes. Hopefully, KFC will use more post recyclable fibers in their paper products in the near future. That's all I can hope for right now."
Cole and Kaela Rasenberger visiting Louisville, Kentucky
