Hesston College
HESSTON —
A recent one-day campaign against plastic bags helped Hesston College students understand their negative impact.
As an alternative, members of the college’s Peace and Service Club gave canvas bags to interested students. Sarah Hooley, a sophomore from Filer, Idaho, and leader of the Peace and Service Club, said although the campaign idea originated with Campus Pastor Kevin Wilder, she and others thought it was good idea.Hooley notices when Hesston students shop, “They come back loaded with plastic bags full of their purchases,” she said. Fellow club member Heidi Gingerich, a sophomore from Parnell, Iowa, gathered the facts from Internet sites with help from Hooley. Then, club member Zach Hurst, a sophomore from Glenmoore, Pa., compiled a five-question quiz. During one lunch, Hurst and Hooley sat at a table inside the Bontrager Student Center Dining Hall, corralling students to take the quiz and in exchange, giving them a canvas bag with words “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” written on them. In addition, Gingerich fashioned table toppers with the following information: • Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured each year • Americans throw away about 100 billion polyethylene bags per year (estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion). • It is estimated an average individual uses about 130 plastic bags per year. • Plastic bags are made of polyethylene, a petroleum product. • Production contributes to air pollution and energy consumption. • About a billion seabirds and mammals die per year by ingesting plastic bags. • It takes 1,000 years for polyethylene bags to break down. • Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest them. • There virtually is no market for recycling plastic bags. Very few recycling centers accept plastic bags because they are of little recyclable value. • The international crisis plastic bags are creating is indicated by the fact most nations recognize the problem and are making strong attempts to eliminate the use and productions of plastic bags. Many countries in Europe and Asia are attempting to eradicate plastic bags. Some are banning plastic bags altogether, while others are implementing a tax on plastic bags to decrease their use. Why isn’t the United States? Why aren’t we acting? According to Hooley, “We decided the quiz would be a fun way to get students to look at the facts. Maybe that way they’ll remember the facts longer.” Gingerich added, “We knew that students would welcome a free bag and would be another good way to raise awareness. “If one person starts using a canvas bag when they shop, someone in line will see them and ask about it,” she said. “If you don’t do it yourself, nothing will change. “The free bag is a reminder to take small steps to make a difference and stop wasting so much,” Gingerich said. “One can even collect and recycle plastic bags, though it’s a bit difficult to find places that will recycle them, since they’re not worth much.” Gingerich said doing the research was interesting. “Then I walked outside and saw a plastic bag caught in a nearby tree,” she remembered. “So even here, we deal with the problem.” “Most people don’t think about it when they make a purchase at a store and get a plastic bag,” she said. “They don’t realize that plastic bags cause problems.” Hurst observed that students who took the quiz were excited about the campaign. “It was fun and entertaining, and they learned a lot,” he said. “Many were surprised that it takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to (break down), or that about one billion seabirds and mammals die every year by ingesting plastic bags. “It’s fairly easy to cut down on the use of plastic bags and make a small difference,” he added. Hurst said they handed out all 100 canvas bags they had.“Hopefully, the students will use them,” he said. “If they don’t, hopefully they’ll give them to someone who does. That’s where we’ll make a difference.”
