PLASTIC BAG CHALLENGE

Plastic bags are made from ethylene, a gas that is produced as a by- product of oil, gas & coal production. Recycling plastic is a priority as these resources will run out in our lifetime. Plastic bags can take up to 1000 years to break down. Australians uses over 7000 recyclable plastic bags per minute and currently only 3% of plastic bags are recycled. 429000 of these recyclable bags are dumped in landfill every hour. Plastic bags kill and disable thousands of marine animals and sea birds every year. When the animal dies and decays the bag remains intact and is free to repeat its deadly cycle. Hopefully many of us use reusable “green bags” & continue to do so in this competition. The challenge is about rounding up bags which may have been improperly disposed. Some outdoor areas you may find plastic bags may include: the beach, parks and outdoor picnic areas, sporting grounds and the playground. You could also ask family and friends if they have plastic bags lurking in any dark cupboard corners. Remember always be safe when collecting bags outdoors. Wear protective clothing & sunscreen and always take a buddy or ask an adult to help. We at Maitland Public School want to collect as many as possible. There are prizes to be won and most importantly we are helping our environment.

The bags that we collect could be recycled to make lots of cool new stuff such as; plastic covers on stationary, plastic park benches, footwear, boardshorts and caps.

Who would have thought you could end up wearing old bags?

So come on everyone bring in your plastic bags! There are boxes at the front office and in classrooms. We will be regularly counting them and taking photo’s of our progress. Every day counts!!

-Ryan Lange (Student Parliament Minister for the environment)

- Melissa Anderson (Organising Teacher)