Going Green
Submitted by knighter24 on Thu, 08/09/2007 - 20:38.
Last updated on Fri, 04/11/2008 - 11:16.
Vital Stats
People Impacted: 1000Money Raised: $700.00
Project Photos
Project Video
The Problem
Going Green is devoted to taking paper and plastic bags out of stores and making reuseable tote bags a part of American's life to reduce waste and the dangerous effects of paper and plastic bags. I feel that this is very important because of how bad paper and plastic bags are in our environment. Plastic bags can take 1000 years to biodegrade, and both paper and plastic release poisonous materials in the water and soil as they break down. Unsuspecting animals often eat the plastic bags and end up dying because they do not break down in their bodies. Also, plastic bags are very difficult to recycle, if they ever make it to a recycle center in the first place. As Americans, we use 84 billion plastic bags a year, and the average family of four uses 1,500 plastic sacks a year. Just think of how many bags could be saved if everyone had only one reuseable tote to put part of their purchases in. The numbers would add up quickly on how many sacks were not getting tossed out into our environment. I want to start in my community and get the grocery stores involved to help me market and campagin the tote bags. I have talked to some people in my county, including a naturalist, and they all think that it is a great idea. They surport me fully. All the money that is going to be raised will be donated to the bike trails of Sheldon, and The Prairie Heritage Center to help them with the many environmental projects they have going on. I wanted to give the money back to my community and help improve nature.
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This is what I want to do in my community. I work for a grocery store and my store does not provide or sell canvas bags as an alternative to paper or plastic. I contacted the company headquarters to request that they sell canvas bags in the store I work at. They told me they do sell reusable bags at other stores but not at my location. My store provides a 5 cent discount for each canvas bag used by a customer but many customers have told me they cannot find a local store that sells affordable reusable bags, thus they continue using plastic or paper. I like how you succeeded with your project. Maybe you could help me. Let me know if you have any ideas.
It would be wonderful if you got your own bag project started. It can really help the community that you live in. I think that it is great that you are interested in helping reduce paper and plastic bags. The first thing I did was go on the internet and research tote bags. I found that bags made out of polypropylene are the best for the environment. They are made from recycled materials and are easily recycled. They also use way less water to produce compared to cotton totes. I then went and talked to many people in my town. I went to the city offices and to the county conservation board. Talk to any naturalists in your area. They are always more then willing to help and they have great ideas. The website that I bought my bags from is called www.bagsontherun.com. I really liked the size because they are close to a paper grocery sack, so they fit a lot. They also have reinforced bottoms, and they seem durable. I had to take the money out of my savings account to order my first 100 bags, but you can order as little as 10 bags at once. If you don’t want to take your own money out to start, you could fund raise in the beginning to get the money you need to order the bags. You could also talk to the headquarters again or have your manager do it. Tell them that people have been asking for a replacement to paper and plastic bags, and you think that it would be beneficial to their store if they had them available where you live. In San Francisco, they just outlawed all paper and plastic bags. You have to bring your own bag to stores or you just don’t get one. I would love it if the whole United States was that way! I am hoping to get that same law passed where I live and hopefully the whole state of Iowa. It would be awesome if you could get your community involved in this! I wish you the best of luck! If you have any other questions post again or call me at 712-324-3858.