Saving the environment is in the bag at Inkster School.
These kids are committed to using recyclable and reusable cloth bags to replace the ubiquitous plastic bags that the kids fear are littering the planet, endangering wildlife, and clogging landfills for centuries to come.
"Those bags hurt the animals and they hurt the earth," student Selena Stubbington declared Wednesday.
She's part of a dedicated environmentalist group in grades 3 and 4 who will be handing out a cloth bag to each of Inkster School's 350 students, teachers and staff this afternoon.
The kids started talking about their project a year ago. "We'd try and make our environment greener," student Rheed Lafreniere said.
Three teachers are working with the kids, Albert Yanoksky, Yussef Hawash, and Patsy Zdrill.
"We talked about using less plastic bags, and more recyclable bags," said Yanofsky, who subsequently talked to the manager at the Maples IGA about getting some cloth bags donated.
And the campaign was off and running.
The school also obtained some grants to provide additional cloth bags for 98 cents apiece.
Student Jada Wood said she was out in the woods with her dad when they saw a duck entangled in plastic bags that someone had tossed away. "My dad was able to help get them off," she said.
Brenden Haide and his grandfather caught a bass that was way beyond big: "We caught a bass, and when my grandpa cut it open, there was a plastic bag" in the fish's stomach, said Brenden, who reported that the fish was choking so badly that it fought far less than a bass normally would.
"We're going to give everybody a cloth bag," Matthew Henry said.
Faith Gallaugher demonstrated how much weight a cloth bag will hold, and how strong and durable its handles.
"It takes almost 1,000 years for plastic bags to break down," Brenden said.
Someone suggested plastic bags are handy for dog owners, but Selena countered that quickly by pointing out environmentally-friendly alternatives: "It's called a pooper scooper," she said.
There was a little chagrin upon the discovery that the cloth bags are made in China -- local jobs making recyclable bags would have been a plus -- and there was some uncertainty among the students about whether supermarkets would reduce prices if they no longer had to tack the cost of plastic bags onto their operating costs.
But it's all about protecting the environment, emphasized R.J. Guerrero: "I will pick up litter, and I will pick up bottles and cans, to save Mother Earth," he declared.
nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
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