Do good for planet Saturday

KPAB swap, recycling event


Take your unwanted plants, books, plastic bags, eye glasses and electronics to the Fred Rhodes Memorial Pavilion in Roberts Point Park Saturday, Nov. 19.

Keep Port Aransas Beautiful and A Bag’s Life are hosting a plant and book swap and plastic bag, eyeglass and electronics recycling event from 9 a.m. to noon. A Bag’s Life is a public educational campaign that unites non-profits, business, community and government organizations to raise awareness and make it easier for more people to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic bags.

The event has been scheduled as part of America Recycles Day, a Keep America Beautiful dedication to promoting and celebrating recycling in the U.S. Besides reducing waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill, or along our streets, the event is aimed at increasing public awareness to go easy on our planet.

Bring plants, trees, cuttings, rootings, seeds and books to share and pick up new-to-you items.

Also accepted at the event will be unwanted eyeglasses, ink cartridges and electronics such as computers, cell phones, computer accessories, monitors, game consoles, printers, scanners, fax machines and other small electronics.

What will happen to items brought in? Eye glasses collected will be given to the Lion’s Club for redistribution, cell phones will be turned in for re-use, ink cartridges will be sent for recycling and bottle corks recycled to help fund cancer research.

All donations in working order will be set aside for the public to retrieve until the event is over. Televisions and microwaves will not be accepted.

Volunteers will be on hand to collect plastic bags and wraps, including newspaper wrappers and dry-cleaning bags for recycling. Plastic bags and other plastic wraps aren’t accepted for recycling in municipal curbside programs, but can be recycled through events such as this or taken to any of the participating grocers and retailers who collect them. Those bags can then be given another life as products like outdoor decking, park benches and new bags.

Why aren’t plastic bags and wraps accepted for recycling in municipal curbside programs? Event organizer Julie Findley said plastic bags and wraps “require a different type of recycling than plastic bottles and containers” and cannot easily be separated from other recyclables in the early stages of processing.” Just remember to take those bags back to the store next time you shop.

“Recycling plastic bags and wraps is easy and convenient, and by embracing positive ‘green’ actions today, we benefit the future of our planet,” said Findley.

Those who bring bags to the event will receive stickers, information or a magnet to be used as a reminder that it’s easy to recycle bags and wraps. Bags just need to be taken back to stores that participate in the bag recycling program.

Don’t have anything to bring to the event? Don’t worry about it. Organizers say to stop by and “see what is there you may need.”

For more information about the free event, call Findley at 749-5554 and leave a message.



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