Snohomish Lions Club collecting plastic
SNOHOMISH — The Snohomish Lions Club, in hopes of reducing the amount of plastic film waste, wants to create a bench made from recycled plastic bags. The Snohomish Lions began collecting plastic bags Nov. 1 and are aiming to collect 500 pounds by April 30, 2021.
“It’s a kind of a green initiative to keep more stuff out of the landfill, we only have so much land and it’s being filled up quickly with our refuse,” said Snohomish Lions Club treasurer Renee Deierling, who leads the bags-to-bench project. “So this is a way to make something good out of what would normally probably go right into the garbage can.”
The plastic wrapping that is synonymous with product packaging can be put to good use. Old grocery bags, bread bags, newspaper sleeves, dry cleaning bags, plastic wrap, ice bags, wood pellet bags and resealable sandwich bags are all examples of the types of plastic film that can be recycled into a bench. Deierling said if the plastic has some stretch when you pull on it, it can be used.
“I didn’t realize how much can be recycled. You know, I knew that we could just recycle grocery bags and the sleeves that the newspapers come in, but I had no idea we could use produce bags and case wrap and bubble wrap and all those things, can go right into the making of a bench, which will last quite a while,” Deierling said.
In order to be recycled, the bags and plastic must be washed and dried before donating. Plastic bags must be collected by the Lions Club so it can be weighed to ensure an accurate weight.
Donations can be made by emailing Renee Deierling at rdeierling@gmail.com so she can facilitate a pick-up or drop-off of bag donations. Plastic can also be dropped off at grocery stores as long as the donator sends an email notifying Deierling of the location.
The composite decking material manufacturing company Trex will take the plastic and create the bench as part of its Trex Recycling Plastic Film Challenge.
Because of COVID-19, the ban on plastic bags in Snohomish was revoked and the public was forced to leave reusable bags at home.
“I’m imagining that there’s more plastic that’s now showing up in people’s homes, and we want to get it to the right place and get it recycled,” Deierling said.
Where the bench would be installed is not decided yet.
“We’ll work with some of the other nonprofits that we support, like the Boys and Girls Club or the Snohomish Senior Center or some of the other clubs,” Deierling said. “We haven’t kind of gotten to the point of where the bench is going to go yet.”
Deierling said they haven’t determined if there is even a need for another bench in Snohomish but the Lions Club feels this is better
than the plastic sitting in a landfill.
Plastic film material can take anywhere from 500 to 1,000 years to decompose and the Lions Club wants to be part of the solution.
“I think our community’s probably one of the leaders in trying to stay green or to promote more green initiatives,” Deierling said. She added the bench project was a really great idea that could help in a different way to make a positive impact in the community.
