Goodbye Plastics 2013
Woodbrook Elementary School
A Woodbrook Elementary School student was concerned about the negative effects that plastic disposable bags were having on the environment, so she decided to gather some friends and launch an educational campaign regarding this important issue at her school.
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To motivate teachers, students, and staff to learn about options to using plastic disposable bags, these students offered to pay all donors 1 penny for every plastic bag donated for recycling.
Special boxes were placed in the school hallways to collect the donated plastic bags.
Many, many plastic bags are recyclable. To download this informational handout listing which types of plastic bags are recyclable, please click here. Save it and print it out. Place a copy in a handy location near where you usually sort out recyclables and trash.
Did you know that plastic does not biodegrade? Instead it photo-degrades and breaks into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic. A thin disposable plastic bag takes over 10 years to break down. So how disposable are they really?
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The students put up posters, passed out brochures, sent emails, and made video announcements to the school community encouraging others to use fewer plastic bags and to recycle the rest.
Over the course of their project the students collected 914 plastic disposable bags for recycling, and educated the Woodbrook Elementary students, faculty, and staff.
It is estimated that each person in the USA uses about 500 plastic disposable shopping bags each year. Some people are so upset about those numbers that they have launched an educational campaign which includes Bag Monsters created from 500 plastic bags.
Students finished their project with dedication and grace giving thank you cards to each person who had donated plastic bags to their campaign.
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