April 14, 2010

“Bring It Back Philly” Watch The Live Event Promoting Plastic Bag Recycling

Posted in Plastic / Paper Bag Events, Video by Project GreenBag

Event starts 8am PST

Supermarkets, City Council, and others begin program urging Philadelphians to recycle more plastics bags and wraps

PHILADELPHIA – Keep Philadelphia Beautiful led the kick-off event today at Temple University of the new “Bring it Back Philly” public education campaign, sponsored by local retailers and business groups to increase the recycling of plastic bags and wrap among the city’s residents.

The new initiative is spearheaded by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, who sponsored a resolution adopted by the Council in December to establish the program.

“My goal with this campaign is to educate and raise the awareness of Philadelphia’s citizens on how to properly recycle plastic bags and wraps. We all have a role in helping to keep our City clean and environmentally friendly,” said Councilwoman Reynolds Brown. “The convenient recycling locations mean that everyone can and all of us should get involved in helping to grow a more sustainable Philadelphia.”

As of today, 232 stores are participating in the program—making it the largest voluntary urban plastic bag recycling program in the country.

“Temple is proud to host this kick-off event for recycling plastic bags in Philadelphia,” said Sandra J. McDade, Director of Sustainability for Temple University. “Temple will be a partner in educating individuals about the triple line benefits of recycling plastic bags: that is, benefitting the environment, the economy and the people.”

Coalition member retailers outlined the public education and outreach activities they will be undertaking over the next several months to increase awareness of shoppers of the recyclability of plastic bags and locations for recycling bags and wraps.

“A successful grassroots education campaign to point out the virtues of recycling plastic bags will effectively change consumer behavior,” said Gail Street, Director of Communications and Public Affairs for Acme Markets. “That, coupled with a viral marketing campaign, can potentially make Philadelphia one of the greenest cities in America.”

“We believe that all retailers and consumers should be responsible for improvement of the environment, and we are committed to working with the city of Philadelphia to develop ways to effectively address recycling issues,” said Richard McMenamin, owner and operator of two ShopRite stores in northeast Philadelphia.

Other Philadelphia area retailers participating in the program include Target, Kmart, Sears, and Fresh Grocers.

“More Americans are recycling plastic bags and wraps than ever before, driven, in part, by public education efforts like “Bring It Back Philly” and a growing recognition that plastic is a valuable resource,” said Shari Jackson, Director of the Progressive Bag Affiliates (PBA) of the American Chemistry Council. “It’s not just bags—we find that many consumers are surprised to learn that they can return dry cleaning bags, newspaper bags and plastic wraps from bread, paper towels, cases of soda and more.”

PBA member Hilex Poly, which is the world’s largest manufacturer and a major recycler of plastic bags, has a facility in Milesburg, PA. Earlier this year Hilex doubled the capacity of its recycling facility in North Vernon, Indiana, to help meet the industry goal of 40% recycled content in all plastic bags by 2015.

Plastic materials are recycled into many useful products, including durable backyard decking, fencing, railings, shopping carts, and new plastic bags. One company that makes outdoor products from recycled plastics is Trex Company.

“Trex is the largest domestic recycler of grocery bags. We believe that by better educating consumers on where and how to recycle their grocery bags, we can increase the percentage of recycled bags and reduce the number of bags that go to landfills,” said Samara Norman, senior materials buyer for Trex Company. “We’re happy to be a part of Philadelphia’s program.”

Source: http://bringitbackphilly.org/

For more information, and/or to get in touch with one of the people above, please contact:
Lauren Manelius – 717.525.6262 – Manelius@thebravogroup.com

“Bring It Back Philly” Watch The Live Event Promoting Plastic Bag Recycling

Supermarkets, City Council, and others begin program urging Philadelphians to recycle more plastics bags and wraps

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