09/23/24 - 110 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/sx2c9eyw
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Lt. Gov. Cawley, Keep PA Beautiful, Partners Kick Off Plastic Bag Recycling Initiative
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Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley joined Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, partnering organizations and students from The Nativity School of Harrisburg to launch the “A Bag’s Life” on America Recycles Day, November 15. Click Here to watch video from the event.
The program partners with more than 1400 supermarket and other retail locations who will serve as collection points throughout Pennsylvania for plastic bag and other film collection.
Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley called A Bag's Life a private-sector solution to a public issue. "Pennsylvanians know it makes sense to reuse or recycle more plastic bags," Cawley said. "A Bag's Life brings retailers, state and local government officials and plastic bag producers together to work to reduce the number of bags in our landfills. And I think Pennsylvanians working together can make a significant difference."
KPB partners in A Bag’s Life Program include the departments of Conservation and Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and Transportation, PA Food Merchants Association, PA Recycling Markets Center, PA Waste Industries Association, the Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council, Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania, Keep America Beautiful and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Affiliates and various recycled material processors in Pennsylvania.
“A Bag’s Life" is a united effort by non-profit, business, community and government organizations around the common goal of promoting the three R’s as they relate to bags — reduce recycle and reuse.
"Recycling makes sense and it provides the opportunity for consumers to take personal responsibility in our ongoing effort to protect our environmental resources," said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. "Individually we can all make a significant difference in how plastic bags are reused and recycled." Reiter noted that while plastic bag recycling is not new to Pennsylvanians, this unique program — a statewide educational partnership in which public and private groups work together to promote recycling plastic bags — certainly is.
With the inception of “A Bag’s Life,” consumers can divert many other plastics into plastic bag recycling bins that are currently found at larger retailers and most chain grocery stores. These bins will be more readily available as large mall retailers come on board with this progressive, easy to participate in program.
"Today was a great day for Pennsylvanians to step forward and individually pledge to take extra steps to reduce litter and make recycling work at home and in our communities," said David McCorkle, President/CEO of the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association. "By taking the extra time to bring grocery bags back to the store to be recycled, people are giving that bag a second chance to be made into something else like outdoor decking, park benches, or even new bags. It's a simple earth-friendly practice that can yield tremendous results."
"Retailers across the state are well aware of the impact plastic bag litter has on our roadways and agricultural environment," said Phoebe Coles, Executive Director of Keep Philadelphia Beautiful. "That's why over 1,400 retail stores are participating by offering their drop-off sites for consumers to recycle these bags — helping make Pennsylvania the cleanest, most beautiful state in the nation. Recycling helps alleviate plastic bag litter, and is something we can all do by returning or reusing our plastic bags."
Coles was responsible for the highly successful "Bring It Back Philly" plastic bag and wrap recycling program in Philadelphia.
In addition to standard plastic retailer bags, “The Bag Family” of recyclable plastic includes: Newspaper bags – used to keep your daily news dry, Dry Cleaning bags, Bread bags (please shake out those crumbs first), Veggie bags – the ones you use for your fresh vegetables at the grocery store, Product Wraps – this includes toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, diaper wrap and more, Furniture Wrap – Imagine reusing that big bulk of plastic that kept your new couch clean until it arrived in your living room.
Also included are: Electronic Wrap – Those plastic bags that your new flat screen came in can be put in the plastic bag bin; even the bubble wrap (It’s OK to let the kids stomp the bubbles first!), Plastic Retail bags – Just be sure you pull off any hard plastic and string handles first, Food Storage bags – If they are clean and dry put them in the bin, Cereal Box Liners – “A Bag’s Life” notes that unless it tears like paper, recycle it as long as it is clean, Tyvek and other Plastic Shipping Envelopes – Remove the labels please, Ice Bags – Pull off any metal closures, dry them and recycle, Bags labeled #2 or #4 recyclable – Take them back to the store when they are clean and dry to be recycled!
You cannot recycle food or cling wrap, prepackaged food bags including frozen food bags or prewashed salad bags, or wraps with a large amount of glue.
Once these bags are collected, their valuable material is transformed into dozens of useful new products, including low-maintenance fencing, decking as well as other construction materials. They are also used to make more bags. The list grows daily of the manufacturers reusing plastic for their products. PROP encourages consumers to choose recycled material products whenever possible.
For more information, visit the A Bags Life website. The website for A Bag's Life also has information about an easy to use recycle location finder that lists the nearest drop-off points for plastic bag and film recycling with a Google Maps option.
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11/21/2011 |
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