April 23, 2009
Recreation center initiative nets 5,500 plastic bags
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Bags, bags, thousands of bags. It was the big bag exchange at Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Student Recreation Center.
Each semester the center sponsors an environmentally friendly project and for a five-week period recently, the project was a bag exchange. Visitors could bring in their plastic bags and pick up a free, reusable, eco-friendly woven cloth bag. The center gave away 250 of the green totes.
The exchange culminated on Earth Day Wednesday, April 22, as about 5,500 plastic bags collected were stacked on the floor of the reception center at the Student Recreation Center.
“Our facility is dedicated to being green and sustainable,” said Dustin Soderman, graduate assistant for facilities at Recreational Sports and Services. “The Student Recreation Center not only shares vision of a ‘Greener Future’ but also actively participates in making it a reality.”