GREENBRIER COUNTY W.Va. (WVDN) – I have been helping St. James Episcopal Church with a recycling project. This project is part of the NexTrex Recycling Challenge. This challenge is run by Trex Company and asks people to collect and recycle plastic, like grocery bags and other stretchy plastics. Schools and other community groups collect clean and dry plastic, weigh it, take it to a drop-off site and report the weight on the Trex website. The recycled plastic is turned into Trex products.
Our goal at St. James is to earn a Trex bench. Volunteers meet every week to sort the plastic. We check the plastic to make sure it is clean, dry and can be recycled. We look for the recycle logo and check if it has a #1, #2 or #4 because those types will work. If it does not have the recycle logo, we check to make sure it will stretch when pulled. If it stretches like a grocery bag, it usually works. We also remove plastic that does not work, like frozen food bags and mesh bags that hold potatoes and lemons. Finally, we cut off any paper stickers on the plastic and the zippers from food storage bags.
To earn our bench, we have to recycle 1,000 pounds of plastic in 12 months. When we get our bench, we will put it in the St. James Memorial Garden. One of my favorite parts of this project is learning from the Recycle Lady. She started our bench project and teaches me about recycling. I also love meeting and working with the other volunteers. It feels good to be part of a team working for the same goal.
