Blessed With Two More Grants

I've quietly been waiting to hear back from Indiana Campus Compact (ICC) and the Office of Research at IU South Bend about two grants I submitted over a month ago. The waiting period has had its ups and downs--I've been eager to know the verdict.

The great news is that ICC and IU South Bend have agreed to support this project! I'm truly humbled, honored, and excited to receive this level of support. Funds from ICC and IU South Bend will be used for classroom and festival materials. I will also be able to hire a student with advanced web-skills to help me create an interactive project website next semester.

Bit by bit, we're meeting our project goals. Next semester is going to be an educational blast!

Congratulations, Patrick!

Hard work pays off--For the past two months, Patrick diligently wrote a grant proposal to film a documentary as part of this project. He submitted the proposal to Indiana Campus Compact (ICC) on Oct. 11, and just yesterday, he received the good news: ICC accepted the proposal!

To provide you with a little background, ICC is an organization that supports service-learning projects for colleges and universities in our state. An important goal for ICC is to build academic and community relationships that promote civic engagement. Given their support, ICC will provide us with resources, technical assistance, information, and networking opportunities to help us fufill our project goals. We're definitely in good hands.

So a round of applause is in order! Patrick, I'm very proud of you. Congratulations--Job Well Done!

October's Network

Last night, Dawn (the Network Analysis Guru) and I created October's network. Below is a mini-version of the network. To see a larger version of it, click here. As you can see, the network is growing!

To recap, the legend is as follows:

Red--IUSB faculty and students

Purple--IUSB administration

Blue--Friends and family

Light blue--UGA colleagues

Green--South Bend businesses and non-profits

Yellow--reusablebags.com

Pink--NPR radio essay contacts

Since airing the radio essay on NPR, I've been contacted by Marianne Peters, Freelance Writer, and Elizabeth Scarborough, Member of the Audobon Society. Both have expressed their interest in participating with this project. Marianne and I will be co-authoring a paper on environmental and practical issues that relate to conservation. And Elizabeth and I have discussed plans to have the Audobon Society participate at the festival. Of course, I will keep you informed as these plans continue to develop.

So, for those of you who are in the network, THANKS for your support. I sincerely appreciate it. And if you don't see your name in the network, but wish to become a part of this project, all you need to do is contact me!

National Public Radio: Billions of Plastic Bags

Last week, I was on the local National Public Radio station (88.1WVPE), which airs radio essays from the American Democracy Project. Of course, my commentary was about this project! Click here to listen to it online (text provided, too). I must say that airing the radio essay was fun, exciting, and a bit nerve-wracking. I'm certainly glad I did it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy hearing it for yourself!

Guest Speakers for Festival

Folks, I've got more good news to share with you: We have two guest speakers for the Conserve Plastic Bags Festival! (Please note: The tentative date for the festival is scheduled for April 14, 2007.)

Steve Antonneti, District Manager of Wal-Mart, will host a discussion session on Wal-Mart's efforts to recycle plastic bags. As part of his presentation, he will show us video footage on plastic-bag recycling in Bentonville, AK. He will also be able to answer any questions or concerns we may have about this recycling process. So this will be a *great* opportunity for us to get informed and ask our burning questions about plastic-bag recycling at Wal-Mart!

In addition, Vincent Cobb and his representatives at reuseablebags.com will participate at the Conserve Plastic Bags Festival! They will host a discussion session on the importance of conserving plastic bags. (If you haven't checked out their website, I highly encourage you to do so!) They will also have a lot of goodies in-store for us (e.g., t-shirts, stickers, cloth bags).

This should be educational and FUN!

Fabulous News: We Have Two Community Partners!

I'm very happy to report that we've established *two* community partners for the project. Cheryl Schade, Director of the Adult Services at the Logan Center, confirmed their support with the project. This means that folks at the Logan Center will participate in our contests. And we will host a workshop at the Logan Center to teach participants how to make crafts (i.e., draft dodgers, coasters) from re-used plastic bags.

In addition, we've formed a partnership with the Riverbend Community Math Center. Amanda Serenevy, President of Riverbend Community Math Center, will work closely with me to organize festival events. Amanda is committed to teaching children (and adults!) how mathematics relates to real-life events. I'm so impressed by her creative ideas; Amanda knows how make the study of mathematics FUN!

Folks, I'm thrilled about this latest development, and I hope you are, too!

Establishing a Network

Despite the fact it's only been a month since I began this project, several people have shown their support. I've managed to keep a list of folks I've contacted, but the list keeps growing! Lucky for me, my friend, Dawn Wiest, is a bonafide expert on network analysis. So, on Sunday night, we created my very first Conserve Plastic Bags network! I'm going to keep track of any changes in the network as this project develops. And hopefully, those changes will be positive!

As of today, this is what the network looks like:

Please don't hurt your eyes by looking at this network! If you want to see an improved version of the network, click here.

Here's a breakdown of the network by color:

Red--IUSB faculty and students

Green--IUSB administration

Blue--Friends and family

Light blue--UGA colleagues

Light green--South Bend businesses

Black--South Bend Recycling Center

Grey--The Logan Center

Yellow--reusablebags.com

Based on this information, there are two major hubs: me and Gwynn Mettetal. Gwynn is the Department Chair of Psychology at IUSB, so it's no real surprise that she's very well connected. She's a valuable resource, indeed!

Anyway, please feel free to contact me if you wish to become part of the Conserve Plastic Bags network!

Grant Writing: An (Unglamorous) Necessity

To date, Patrick and I have met several people to discuss various aspects of the project. We've met Ken Baierl, Director of Communications and Marketing; Jim Yocom, Director of Media and Events; Susan O'Brian and Calvin Manns of the Recycling Center, and several IUSB faculty members.

In addition, last week I met Cheryl Schade, Director of Adult Services at the Logan Center. We had a great conversation discussing the possibility of forming a partnership with the project. And she had some really good ideas on reusing plastic bags! In the meantime, however, I must be patient--my goal is to secure a partnership with the Logan Center because this project depends on establishing solid relationships with the community. So please cross your fingers for me!

In other news, Patrick and I have been diligently writing grant proposals. Though necessary, grant writing is an unglamorous task. (I actually considered taking a photo of me writing, but the idea of taking an "action" shot of me writing sounds, well, silly!)

To be honest, it's really not that bad. In fact, writing grant proposals can be quite *enjoyable*--just ask Patrick-- somehow, I've managed to refine his geek skills. Now, Patrick spends his Friday nights working on his grant proposal. Woo Hoo!!

The Only Store That Offers Plastic-Bag Recycling: Wal-mart

By now, it's clear there are no facilities in Indiana that will recycle our plastic bags. Susan O'Brien (Account Manager of Waste Management) was the first person to give me the news.

The question, according to Susan, was to call the local grocery stores and ask them where plastic bags are transported for recycling. So, I took her advice and made a few calls. This is what I found out:

Kroger's used to offer plastic-bag recycling, but that service was discontinued eight years ago. Why? Well, recycling these plastic bags became an expense. It simply cost too much to transport the bags for recycling. So they quit offering the service.

Martin's also used to offer plastic-bag recycling. But this service was discontinued when the LaPorte Mill shut down in 2001. After the LaPorte Mill closed, the nearest facility was in Chicago, and they simply couldn't afford to pay the transportation costs. So, they also stopped accepting plastic bags for recycling.

But take note: Martin's offers a .03 cent credit to anyone that reuses their old plastic bags (or cloth bags). Of course, if you're like me, that means you're bound to forget to bring your old bags with you to the store! So here's a challenge: After you're done reading this blog, grab a handful of your plastic bags, and put them in your car. That way, the next time you're at the grocery store, you'll be prepared to bring your bags with you.

Now, when speaking to the store manager of Martin's, I discovered there is one store that offers plastic bag recycling. Which store? He didn't want to name any names, but I thought I heard him mutter, "Wal-Mart". That piqued my interest--I had to call!

So, I called Wal-Mart. Long story short, I had to call 1-800 Wal-mart to ask where they ship their plastic bags for recycling. And then I had to wait three days for their answer--but I did receive a call from them. And this is what I found out:

Each week, a semi-truck picks up plastic bags and other recyclables at Wal-Mart. Those materials get shipped to Bentonville, Arkansas (that's where the Wal-Mart headquarters is located). There's a mill in Bentonville that recycles plastic bags into patio furniture and chairs. Wowza! What a revelation!

So, folks, Wal-Mart is the only store in South Bend that offers plastic-bag recycling. And those plastic bags get transported down south to Bentonville, Arkansas. It's not exactly nearby, and it's certainly not cheap!

As a brief aside, I wonder how much gas money is spent to haul these plastic bags to Bentonville, AK. (How much money does it cost to fill up a semi-truck, anyway?)

Oh! Now that you've finished reading this blog, don't forget the challenge!

The State of Garbage in Indiana

Each year, there's a nationwide survey* that provides an overview of how garbage is handled in the US. Hold your nose: it's not exactly a pretty story.

So, looking at the 2006 report, we (the US population as a whole) generated approximately 388 million tons of garbage. Of that total figure, 64.1% is sent to landfills, 28.5% is recycled & composted, and 7.4% is combusted.

Wowza. That's a lot of garbage.

So what about Indiana? Care to know what the survey said?

Our state alone generated approximately 13 million tons of garbage in one year. To date, there are 36 landfills in Indiana, and 60% of our garbage is directly sent to landfills. The rest of the trash is either recycled (35%) or combusted (5%).

And get this: In one year, Indiana residents generated 2.1 tons of garbage per person. That's you, me, and everyone else, but on a personal level. (Good grief!)

By comparison, Georgia residents generated 900 lbs of garbage per person that same year. There's approximately 2.5 million more people in GA. Yet, despite having a smaller population in Indiana, we Hoosiers generated 4.8 million tons more trash than GA folks!

(Ok, now before my friends in GA get smug, they should know that 90.6% of their garbage is directly sent to landfills, 8.3% is recycled, and 1.1% is combusted.)

So that's the state of garbage in Indiana. Not quite appetizing, I must admit. But rather than feeling guilty and ultimately ignoring this situation, I propose we become proactive in reducing our waste. Please tell me what you do to reduce waste--I want to know and be inspired by you!


*Survey information provided by BioCycle magazine, April 2006.