ECO Begins Bring Your Own Bag Campaign

ECO, Truman's environmental organization, is sponsoring a Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) campaign across campus in order to make students aware of the environmental concerns that arise due to excess plastic bag use, as well as offer information about more sustainable alternatives.

Brett Wiley, a Truman student and member of ECO's steering committee, has been helping with the campaign, along with many other students.

"For ECO, it's our first campaign of the year, and we want to inform the campus of possible environmentally friendly practices that the Truman community can use in their everyday lives," Wiley said.

The idea for the BYOB campaign was initially proposed by Cassie Phillips, also an ECO member. She learned about an online activist site and store, http://www.reusablebags.com, which had initial ideas for running a plastic bag awareness campaign.

"Not only are they trying to sell items, but there is an educational and activist component to their Web site," Phillips said. "They sell fair-trade products that are both organic and reusable."

ECO will have informational tables about BYOB set up across campus, as well as at Hy-Vee. The grocery store supports the reuse of bags and offers a $.05 reduction to customers that bring in cloth bags or plastic bags to put their purchases in for current transactions. Customers must tell cashiers when they are planning to use reusable bags in order to receive the discount. The informational tables will have statistics about plastic bag use, along with opportunities to purchase organic cloth bags. Also, ECO will be accepting donations of old T-shirts at the tables that they will make into bags and provide them for members of the Truman and Kirksville communities. If students, faculty or staff would like to get involved or receive more information, they can contact the ECO Steering Committee by e-mail at trumaneco@hotmail.com.

Informational Tables
11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Oct. 18
Magruder Hall Main Foyer

11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Oct. 19
Quadrangle

4-6 p.m.
Oct. 20
Residence Hall Lounges

12:30-2 p.m.
Oct. 21
Stokes Stadium




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