Read the following articles:

Show the following documentaries: 

  • Bag it

  • A Plastic Ocean

  • Straws

Selected Club Projects 

  • Zone V Carrie T. Watson Garden Club focused on reducing the use of plastic products used at its meetings and members’ homes and daily life.  Over half of the membership signed a “plastics pledge” to eliminate the use of water bottles, plastic bags, and plastic straws.  Members who sighed the pledge agreed to track their success and contribute one dollar to a donation fund each time they broke the pledge.  The club also hosted a presentation by 4Ocean, an organization that is cleaning up the ocean by recycling ocean plastic debris onto plastic bracelets.

  • Zone V Clubs participated in a No Straws campaign that was inspired by the Last Plastic Straw Project by the Plastic Pollution Coalition.  Clubs reached out to the Wawa chain store and local stores encouraging them to eliminate the straw and plastic stirrers.

  • The Garden Club of Philadelphia is changing the green plastic floral design dish made of polypropylene used to make their 100 plus Christmas Green outreach arrangements to a eco friendly green mache container made from recycled paper.

  • The Huntingdon Valley Garden Club collects plastic bags, grocery bags, newspaper sleeves and dry cleaning plastic to donate to TREX, a company that manufactures patio furniture from recycled plastic.  TREX will make a bench that will be placed at one of their civic projects.  HVGC also collects bottle tops that are not recyclable because of size and shape and then donates it to a local to school so it can be used to make a bench.

  • The Garden Club of Alexandria (Zone VII)  initiated a grass roots project to eliminate single use plastics at local restaurants.

  • The French Broad River Garden Club Foundation collaborated with Toward Zero Waste Asheville and the Creation Care Alliance NC to show the documentary “Straws.”

  • Garden Club of Dayton started a “Sustainability Boutique” at their club meetings selling Stashers, metal and paper straws, “shower cap” covers for bowls, and reusable produce bags.

 

 

 

 

Copy Link Print this Resource