Plastic bags create immense waste each year. Over 3 million tons of plastic bags, sacks and wrappers were landfilled in 2018 alone.
Sutton High School’s environmental club is working to change that. Even at the most basic level, they are affecting great change through joining a recycling challenge along with schools across the country.
The popular decking company, Trex, has been manufacturing decking out of recycled materials since 1992. In fact, 95% of the decking is made from eco-friendly, repurposed materials. In 2019, Trex renamed their ongoing recycling program “NexTrex”. In this program, they partner with retailers to collect plastic material. It is then sent to local distribution centers where it is sorted and shipped to Trex’s manufacturing facilities.
Now, NexTrex is furthering their progress on sustainability through the Grassroots Movement. Trex works with schools, municipalities, and eco-minded businesses to dispose of plastic bag waste and give it new purpose. Sutton High was approved to be a participant of their movement and now serves as a drop-off location for community members to donate PE plastic film materials that qualify to be recycled by Trex.
Qualifying materials include bread bags, produce bags, newspaper sleeves, pallet wrap and stretch film, salt and ice bags, grocery bags, cereal bags, case overwrap, bubble wrap, wood pellet bags, plastic shipping envelopes, dry cleaning bags, and finally Ziploc and other reclosable food storage bags.
PE plastic film is very thin and and flimsy, so it is difficult for standard single-stream recycling systems to process. Because of this, plastic films are not accepted in most curbside recycling bins, so it must be melted down and reformulated in order to be repurposed.
If the environmental club collects 1,000 pounds of plastic bag waste this year, Trex will donate a bench to the school. The students plan to put it in the courtyard. Eventually, they hope to acquire multiple benches through the program and possibly place some along the school’s nature trail.
To support the environmental club, you can bring in materials from home, work, and school. There are three donation bins: one in the high school/middle school lobby, one in the cafeteria, and one outside Mrs. O’Neil’s classroom, the club’s facilitator.
To make a general difference, there are also a number of local grocery stores where you can donate plastic film such as the Market 32 in town, the Walmart in Whitinsville, or Price Chopper in Worcester.
Good luck to the environmental club on achieving their goal and keeping the planet beautiful for generations to come.
