It’s in the Bag! Girl Scouts and Bashas Building a Greener Community

January 12, 2012

100,000+ bags collected and on their way to Food City

Tucson- Every year Americans go through about 100 million plastic bags. That’s approximately 360 bags a year for every man, woman, and child in this country. Once used, these bags last for up to 1,000 years. This means every single piece of plastic ever manufactured is still on the planet. After being used for your groceries, it goes into our landfills, exists as wind-blown litter in our land, and creates toxic contaminants in our water.

The Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona want to make a difference in this area and are on a quest to reduce the amount of plastic used in the community. The Girl Scouts are in the 100^th year of their mission to educate families, schools, and communities on how to improve the environment and protect natural resources

Through their 100^th Anniversary Girl Scouts Forever Green Project girls have been out in the community for the past four months collecting plastic bags in an effort to reduce plastic in unwanted places. To date, over 100,000 plastic bags have been collected and brought to the Girl Scouts main office in Tucson. On Thursday Girl Scouts Mission to Market Coordinator, Kristi Pallack, delivered the truckload of bags to the 3030 East Broadway Food City who has partnered with Girl Scouts in this green initiative.  Pallack couldn’t have been happier by the results, “Not only did this project raise girls’ awareness on environmental sustainability, the girls thought outside the box and came up with tons of creative ideas for reuse including dog leashes, parachutes for action figures, stuffing for pet beds, baskets, and handbags.”

Bashas Family of Stores, including Food City, Bashas and AJ’s Fine Foods, will all be accepting plastic bags and keeping a tally on all bags received.  Bashas recycles 160,000 pounds of plastic bags every year, so partnering with the environmentally friendly company is a natural fit for the Girl Scouts.  The Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona invite the public to join in this effort to reduce plastic bag waste. Simply bring your bags to any of these Bashas family stores and deposit them in the specified containers.

It’s a New Year and a perfect time to resolve to take small steps. Together we can create a greener Arizona!

For more information on Girl Scouts Forever Green campaign, please contact Kristi Pallack, kpallack@girlscoutssoaz.org , or visit the Girl Scouts’ website: GirlScoutsSoAz.org