Recycle a bag. Save the planet.

Plastic is the new kid on the block, in the grand scheme of things -- considering that Bakelite, the predecessor of plastic, was developed in 1907, plastic has been around for just over one hundred years. It's versatile, durable -- and it's going to be around for a lot longer than we are. According to the Ocean Portal Team, the authors behind the Smithsonian Institution's page on marine plastics, "Depending on the type of plastic and where it lands, items can take days to hundreds of years to break down into very small pieces, which likely never biodegrade." The plastic we use every day has a long shelf life. Even worse, it's piling up, cluttering the planet that we call home.

Plastic poses a big problem, but you can be a part of the solution. Bring your plastic shopping bags to the main campus for a College-wide Recycle Day. Our recycling day will take place in the North Mall Meting Room on Monday, November 5, 2018 from 11:00am to 2:00pm. Every bag counts, because it's one more piece of plastic that can be reduced, removed, reused, and recycled. So clear out that big plastic shopping bag full of smaller shopping bags you keep under the kitchen sink and bring them to campus. Recycle a bag. Save the planet.