Plastic or Planet
ASC Community Partnerships has teamed up with the grassroots campus EARTH group to promote the use of reusable bags in order to reduce plastic waste. Concerned members of the Adams State College community formed a club, Environmental Action for Resources, Transportation and Health (EARTH). The club's purpose is to explore ways to make the campus environment more sustainable or "greener."
Part of ASC Community Partnerships' mission is to assist the San Luis Valley community in addressing community challenges through partnerships, projects and forums. Towards that effort, ASC Community Partnerships developed the "Plastic or Planet?" program not only to raise consumers’ awareness about plastic consumption but to raise funds that will leverage additional funding for environmental projects. Staff members have developed a marketing plan that is designed to remind people to "recycle, re-use and re-purpose".
City Market and Safeway in Alamosa have agreed to sell the bags at their stores and offer a rebate for promoting use of those bags back to Community Partnerships and EARTH. Adams State College's administration has purchased a reusable bag for every ASC employee. Other corporate sponsors are being sought. For more information on the program call ASC Community Partnerships at (719)587-8209.
The reusable grocery bags are made from natural cotton canvas, and when used on shopping trips they eliminate the waste of plastic bags. Not only is using the bags a way to help to reduce waste, but it is also a way to give back to the community. Each time a bag is used at City Market or Safeway in Alamosa, a small donation is given back to Adams State College Community Partnerships and the EARTH group. The bags will be available at City Market, Safeway, the Valley Food Cooperative, the Adams State Bookstore, or by contacting Community Partnerships at 719-587-8209.
The facts on plastic bag usage can be startling. Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured worldwide each year. Many of these plastic bags end up in landfills or are carried by the wind into forests, ponds, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Plastic bags are often mistaken as food by marine animals, and about 100,000 marine animals die each year from ingesting plastic waste.
Reusable Bags Sell on Earth Day
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Volunteers Sandy Ortega, second left, and Miles Eddy, seated, sell reusable bags to shoppers on Earth Day.
Shoppers at City Market and Safeway in Alamosa stepped up to make a difference on Earth Day, April 22. Approximately one-hundred reusable grocery bags were purchased by shoppers at Safeway and City Market on Earth Day as part of an effort to increase public awareness on the benefits of reusable shopping bags.
Staff members from Adams State College Community Partnerships and student athletes from Adams State set up displays and sold the bags throughout the day at the grocery stores. The reusable bags feature the EARTH group and Adams State logos. EARTH, Environmental Action for Resources, Transportation and Health, is a grassroots organization of Adams State faculty, staff, students, and community members. The group's purpose is to explore ways to make the campus more sustainable, or "greener."
