Whats New

Kwik-Drop recycling in White River Township is now available at Emmanuel Church of Greenwood, 1640 W. Stones Crossing Road, Greenwood, IN. Please flatten all cardboard and paperboard before placing in the green and yellow containers.

Be Eco Chic: Take the BYOB Pledge (Bring Your Own Bag that is!) When it comes to grocery shopping, go green and arrive in style! Bring your own bag because doing the right thing makes you look good and after all, green is the new black. Just ponder these points before your next shopping trip:

• It can take more than 1,000 years for a disposable plastic bag to break down in a landfill.

• Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photo degrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways where animals get tangled in them or eat them by mistake.

• The oil in 14 plastic bags could drive a car one mile

• The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only 4 trips to the grocery

• 12 million barrels of oil go to producing plastic bags each year

• 14 million trees go to producing paper bags each year

• Paper bags do not biodegrade in landfills

• It takes 70% more global warming gasses to make a paper bag than a plastic bag.

• Both paper and plastic bags are major sources of litter; they hang from trees and cling to fences. However, if you bring your own bags, you just look good- after all, doing the right thing looks as good as it feels, and sets a great example for others. 
 

But also remember these important tips:

• Most reusable bags can be reused thousands of times.

• Any reusable bag or container can carry groceries, whether it’s old, new, paper, plastic, or fabric- try using backpacks, woven baskets, crates, or plastic tubs.

• Many major grocery stores offer 5-cent discounts if you bring your own bags.

• Bringing your own bags to the store shows you care about protecting wildlife, keeping your neighborhood clean, and saving money.

The Johnson County Solid Waste Management District will help you accessorize your shopping trips with eco-chic reusable shopping totes. Simply pledge to bring your own bags to the store.

Send us an e-mail to: jcswmd@embarqmail.com and tell us two things:

1. Make your pledge to take reusable bags each time you go shopping.

2. Tell us how you remember to take your own bags. Once you take the pledge (you must be a Johnson County resident to enter), you will be entered into an on-going monthly give away to win three fashionably green shopping tote bags! Each tote holds the equivalent load of 3-4 plastic bags or 2 paper bags. Before too long, you’ll have the BYOB style. More importantly, you’ll help make the earth a greener place. It’s in the bag.