Ready, Set, Action?

When this project first began in August, one of my goals was to film a documentary about the consumption of plastic bags from a personal perspective. To meet this goal, one of my students wrote a grant, which was awarded by Indiana Campus Compact.

Since August, we've generated tons of footage shot inside and outside the classroom. It's been fun filming this experience, even though I hadn't realized I would be serving as the guinea pig for a lot of the scenes. (Yah, I know, I should have figured as much!) And we've had a tremendous amount of support from Instructional Media Services (IMS) at IU South Bend.

Here's a picture of Jim Yocom, Director of IMS, taking some shots at BagFest:

So, overall, I've been quite fortunate in making a documentary about this project. But this lofty goal has also been confronted with its own set of challenges. For instance, my student quit on me, which was disappointing because I thought we had a solid working relationship. And an employee at IMS agreed to take over the film project, but he's since moved away.

Drats.

Anyway, I just ordered 503 DVDs for this documentary, which has yet to be edited and scored, and I don't have anyone to help me finish this film!! Good grief. I suppose one could argue that I'm being presumptuous by ordering these DVDs, but I'd like to think I'm simply being optimistic. Regardless of these differing perspectives, I believe that somehow this documentary will be completed. Anyone with film skills interested in helping me finish this film? :0)

What's Important To You?

I've been thinking about what's important in my life, both professionally and personally. In the context of my class project, it was important for me to visually grasp and comprehend what 380 billion plastic bags looks like.

The task was ostensibly simple: Take my bags out of the kitchen cabinet and count them; you do the same thing. And together, we form a massive pile of plastic bags.

Executing this task, however, was anything but easy. It took me eight months of hard work (i.e., writing, presenting, practicing, planning, ordering) to implement this collaborative event.

But, we did it. My students and I transformed this idea into reality. Starting from zero, we began with a clean slate:

Then we pitched the first set of bags into the container:

Just moments later, we had a small pile of bags:

In one hour, we tallied and pitched 14,640 plastic bags into the container:

At 2pm, we tallied and pitched 53,712 plastic bags:

At 4pm, the final count was 72,571 bags:

Now that BagFest is over, was it worth all the effort?

Some of my students thought so, but not everyone thought this project was worth the effort. One of my students wrote in my teaching evaluation that "many students dreaded attending class because it was a constant state of pretending to be enthused about recycling and making BagFest a success."

Yeouch, that hurts.

But isn't it unreasonable to think all of my students would consider this to be an important project? I certainly had my goals outlined for everyone, but I recognize that what's important to me may not be important to you.

So, I'd really like to know: What's important to you?

Was it worth it?!?!

One of Royte's lines in our recent reading that struck me was: “It isn’t worth it, they said, to get worked up over paper versus plastic at the grocery store.” After this statement I responded pretty defensively, because I thought, wait we just had a whole BagFest over plastic bags and now they, the UCS, say it is not worth it to think about these “unimportant decisions.”

It raised a lot of questions for me, as far as the value, impact, and role of our BagFest. At this point I began to smile, I thought of the 25+ people that I spoke to while counting their bags. I thought of our impact, or footprint, that we made that day. I thought of all the things we learned and had fun with in class. And I think one of the best things was the relationships I built throughout this whole project. It was not about collecting 72,571 bags (that was awesome, though), but it was about the statement, the opportunity, the awareness, and the knowledge that came from BagFest.

Without BagFest in our community, who would have thought that in one day we could collect what Wal-Mart gathers in a month? If BagFest never would have happened, who would have believed that there is an importance in what we do as a community with plastic bags? Sure we all might only have 50 bags, but put them together and look at what our community has created. We recycled those bags that would normally either be thrown away or stuffed away. The community I think gained a lot of knowledge from this opportunity. It was not about collecting the bags, but rather taking the time to expand our knowledge of resources that are just waiting for the community. It was amazing and encouraging to see so many young children involved in this event. Also it was surprising how many people from all around the community cared.

Overall, I saw this event as bringing awareness to the community of the difference we can make when we all pull together, and what an impact that makes! I grew a lot through this experience. I found myself leading, teaching, and talking with people I never thought I would have an opportunity to. The relationships I built with my classmates were encouraging, motivating, and unique, because we were all going through an experience together. I do not think I have ever been involved in any other school activity that I felt so proud of and so self-rewarded by. So, is it worth it to get worked up over paper or plastic (or cloth)? I would say most definitely!

Goodbye Plastic Bottle, Hello SIGG

As part of the requirements for my college degree, I had to enroll in a course on health & fitness. I was shocked to learn that adults should drink 3 liters of water daily. That's basically a gallon of water every day. My jaw dropped in astonishment.

Oh my Lord, I thought. If I drink 3L of water everyday, I'm going to spend most of my day in the bathroom. Good grief.

But, I reasoned, this is good for my health. So I decided to drink more water, that is, 3L of water each day. And yes, I spent more quality time in the bathroom! But my body adapted to this change, and now, it's a daily habit. My body actually feels deprived whenever I don't drink my usual 3L of water.

Anyway, my jaw recently dropped on another occassion. This time, it was at BagFest. I was gleefully following along to Elizabeth Royte's talk, when suddenly she raised a plastic bottle to make a point about the dangers of plastics. Now, this was no ordinary plastic bottle: It was MY plastic bottle she was publicly condemning! Oh, for the love...how I embrace public shame is beyond me. I think I actually cowered when I saw that bottle raised in contempt.

But point well taken. As I recently learned, disposing plastic bottles is a dirty business. Toxins and dioxins are released when incinerated, so torching them is out of the question. In landfills, plastics can last for thousands of years, leaching toxins as they disintegrate. (Ok, that's not a good solution.) And recycling plastics creates poorer-quality plastics. (Great, we're three for three here. Folks, that's a strike-out!)

As Tony asked, "What on Earth are we to do?"

For me, the answer was simple: Stop using plastic bottles. So now I'm the happy owner of this SIGG bottle. It's a 1L bottle made from aluminum, which I purchased from www.reusablebags.com. I also got a 1/2 L SIGG bottle for easy travel.

So, goodbye plastic water bottle. Hello SIGG! :0)

A Paradigm Shift

Last Saturday, during the BagFest Event, I had the opportunity to participate in the discussion panel which consisted of representatives from SB Waste, Wal-Mart and Rocky-Mountain Recycling. It was interesting to listen to the responses to some of the questions being asked by the audience. My question to them (particularly to Rocky-Mountain) was, "Is recycling plastic bags reducing the use of natural resources?" The representative of Rocky-Mountain replied with a "yes", stating that (because the bags were being recycled) they reduced the need to use the materials to make new plastic bags. This is somewhat problematic because plastic bags do not necessarily become plastic bags again after being recycled. They become lawn furniture, wood composite and other misc. items. So, unless everyone is using re-usable bags, plastic bags are still being manufactured.

I have been recycling my plastic bags for years, largely because I knew there is an outlet for them. In essence, I had a false belief that I was not damaging the environment because I was recycling. The question that begs to be answered is, "Does recycling decrease the use of natural resources or does it only decrease the amount of waste going into landfills?" On one hand, recycling prevents "waste" and compilation of materials in landfills; on the other hand, recycling increases the demand for materials to be recycled. Hmmm...somewhat of an oxymoron.

Elizabeth Royte made a statement during her lecture on campus last Saturday that puts this issue into perspective. To prevent mis-quoting, I am going to paraphrase the statement. She was discussing "Zero Waste" and told us that in order to have zero waste, there needs to be a Paradigm Shift. I took that statement to mean that we need to change how we view our world, our environment, our behavior and how we live. Recycling isn't the only answer and it does not solve all of the problems. Reducing the use of natural resources combined with recycling and reusing should be viewed a collective process rather than as options from which to choose from.

Bagfest Comments

I have to agree with everyone- Bagfest was so great! The whole event ran so smoothly, and I was so excited to see the turnout. I have to say that I enjoyed hearing the panel discussion as well as meeting Elizabeth Royte. I would have liked to talk with her a bit about her experiences and about the political involvement regarding garbage. Ah, another time.
Also, the dinner was such a wonderful way to end the Bagfest. The discussions were lively and interesting. And, Michelle's "thank you" speech was wonderful. She was able to describe the process of pulling the planning of the Bagfest together along with thanking each individual who helped bring the event together. The speech was informative as well as touching. And, she hand wrote a thank you note for each person at the dinner- so very thoughtful. Thank you Michelle.

Bag Fest

I’m not sure what I was expecting at Bag Fest but I was pleased it went so smoothly. It was evident how much work and organization had gone into it. I was surprised at how many bags some of the people brought but everybody worked together well to get them counted thrown onto the pile. The day went fast. I did have one unpleasant surprise. As I was separating and counting somebody’s bags I found a messy diaper! How disgusting. I was also surprised to see so many Wal-Mart volunteers.

Elizabeth Royte Blogs about BagFest

In today's Huffington Post, Elizabeth Royte blogs about her reactions to BagFest. Click here to read her post.

:0)
M

Final BagCount

BagCount
Originally uploaded by mverges.

I'm slowly but surely recuperating from BagFest. I was very pleased by the turn-out, the talks, and the number of bag donations. In four hours, volunteers counted over 72,500 bags. Wowza! BagFest was indeed a success.

In addition, folks have been kind enough to send me their pictures, which I've uploaded onto flickr. So feel free to click on this picture to see more BagFest photos.

This weekend, I'm going to organize the data we collected on Saturday. We have four excel files that need to be collated. And Kim was a go-getter: We have 100 completed surveys! So I need to organize those data in order for us to begin analyzing that information.

Just thinking about these data brings a smile to my face. Yes, I'm a veritable stats geek!

BAGFEST REFLECTION

I am running short of words to explain how excited I was for the successful completion of our festival. The Festival was well, a success to me. I have been very anxious to know the response of people in Michiana area about this festival. I was both excited and suprised of the response of the big fest. I think that I was underestimating people's awareness about this issue. I think that we still need to sensitize and reinforce the idea of environmental awareness every time we get an opportunity. The cooperation and involvement of the Michiana community was obvious on that day. Bagfest is only the beginning of many more festivals that are environmentally charged, I am hoping to see many of this kind in different communities.

BagFest!!!!

I loved BagFest! I was exhausted by the end of the day, but I felt like I had really accomplished something. I think BagFest turned out to be everything we wanted it to be and more. Like Professor Verges was saying, I really do think we grew through this experience, as individuals, as a class, and even with parts of our community. I know I, and a lot of my classmates, say a BIG thank you to Professor Verges for all her behind the scenes work and just giving us this experience!

Also dinner was great in having the experience to talk with Elizabeth Royte, that was definitely the top highlight of my semester! I do not think I realized how much I would gain through BagFest, and I am very grateful all that I did gain! Thanks again to everyone who made this possible :)

What an experience!!!

The day dawned well with promises of success not too cold not too hot. It was such a successful day from the start and organization was great! I learnt a lot by watching and participating on how one person can make a huge difference. Congratulations Michelle for steering the way to a direction of change in Michiana community we share the pride of having you as our professor working together in this project was one more step to better experience and better learning. I worked with Amanda for most of the day and was amazed by how we were turning simple ideas to mathematics with fun by estimating how much carbon is released by trees and how much it takes back. The girls we had did great on working this out. Working with kids has been fun for me and it was still another opportunity of having so much fun. Finally, I can't express this excitement enough! I met Elizabeth Royte! Oh my goodness! I was still speechless that I did see her talk about her book and tell us of all those experiences it was so sweet to see this hero narrating it all out before my eyes. Having her at the same dinner table made me feel even extra special it really made my day. Seeing Michelle overwhelmed by joy at the final note for the success of her project brought the whole experience to a very personal and emotional wind-up for me. Thanks Michelle for letting your students be part of this.

Way to go, guys!

The Bagfest was so awesome!!! I can't believe how well it went! It was definitely a team effort, but all of Michelle's preliminary and behind-the-scenes work was VERY evident!! I also was just as amazed at the turnout, and how many people in this community are so enthusiastic about the issue. I feel like they too deserve a pat on the back...maybe we could put another ad or small article in the paper, applauding them for coming out and caring about bags!...which, if nothing else, would motivate them to come out again next year. We could also give them our final count, and maybe reiterate where they can get the super cute purses and t-shirts...just a thought. Nice work, everybody. :)

Bag Fest Success

I agree with the comments by Ashley and Mary. The Bag Fest was a huge success!!! Also, I had several people comment that it ran very smoothly for a first time event and that they didn't see anybody waiting around to have their bags counted. People bringing bags in were responded to quickly. Several people asked about next year and a few expressed interest in partnering with the project next year. So great job everyone! And I second the hats off to Michelle for a job extremely well done and organized! Also, your speech at the dinner acknowledging all the important people involved was awesome. You really made that speech personal; it was touching, funny, and serious all at the same time. The personal thank you notes were a really nice, unexpected touch. The event could not have gone better!

BagFest

What a fantastic success! I cannot even begin to tell you how many people thanked me for taking their bags and recycling them! Hats off to Michelle for making this such a success! There were also several requests to make this an annual tradition! I had no idea that it would be such a success and that there would be so many people, as well as the amount of media that were there! So, great job, Michelle, and thanks so much for including us in this experience! 72,000 bags is a lot!

WoW!

Whew!!! I can't believe that BagFest is over already!!! The day flew by! Overall I have to say that I was quite impressed with how smoothly things seemed to go. I was also really impressed with how many Walmart volunteers there were helping out! They all rock!!!

BagFest: Before Pictures

snow fence2
Originally uploaded by mverges.

As you can imagine, after several meetings and coordinated efforts, we're ready for BagFest!

To check out some pictures I took this afternoon, simply click on this flickr photo.

I can't believe tomorrow's almost here.

Let's just hope lots of people come with their plastic bags!

:0) M

BagFest

Yesterday I sent everybody in my facebook (117 people) an invitation to the BagFest! 15 people already confirmed that are going to go, 33 said that maybe they will go, and just 5 said that they can’t go. Most of them expressed relief because they didn’t know what to do with the bags they have at home!
The BagFest is going to be a total success!

What's For Dinner

As you know, I will be hosting a dinner to honor folks who have worked closely with me to help make BagFest a success. This is what we're having for dinner:

Pasta Primivera

Mozzerella Chicken

Mixed Vegetable

Salad

Garlic Bread

Tirimisu

Iced Tea & Water

Mmm...mmm...sounds good to me! And I have other treats in-store for you, so you really don't want to miss out on this festive occassion!!

So, if you've been invited, but haven't RSVP'ed, please email by Friday. You may bring a guest with you, so please let me know if you're coming solo or with a guest.

If you've already RSVP'ed, and you're one of my students, please take note: The first 7 students who email me will have reserved seats to dine with Elizabeth Royte. So you better respond soon, before it's too late!

Gear-up for BagFest!

Folks, I have good news to share with you. We've got lots of cool gear for BagFest! Check out what I ordered (and click on the link to see the product for yourself):

* 250 ACME reuseable bags (in assorted colors, of course!)

* 300 stickers

* 30 t-shirts (for all of my students--because most of my students are female, I ordered a lot of the 'women'-style shirts. Oh, and I ordered four smalls for my petite students!)

So, here's the deal: Everyone who donates their plastic bags at BagFest will receive a free sticker. And folks who donate 50 (or more) bags will also receive a free, reusable bag. Sweet! And so that we're all on the same page, the Data Collectors will give folks their gifts after the data have been entered into the computer.

I'm so excited about getting this gear, I simply couldn't wait til next week to tell you all about it!

P.S. All this great gear was purchased from www.reusablebags.com, who is also supporting our project by having Allison Kozdron, Representative of reusablebags.com, speak about the importance of using cloth bags at the panel discussion.