Brookview Elementary Wins Build with Bags Grants
Brookview Elementary School has new tables for their school’s Outdoor Classroom courtesy of the Build with Bags grant program.
Brookview Elementary School PTO was one of 15 recipients of a Build with Bags grant award in 2019 and received $2,000 to purchase assorted tables and benches that are made from recycled plastic bags by Plastic Recycling of Iowa.
Last year’s second graders led the recycling effort which included creating recycling-themed artwork to alerts shoppers to plastic bag recycling bins at the Hy-Vee Health Market. Their efforts resulted in Brookview families turning in more than 3,000 plastic bags. Four new tables near the outdoor classroom at Brookview were able to be purchased because of their plastic bac recycling efforts and the Build with Bags grant from the Iowa Grocery Industry Association. One table represents approximately 20,000 bags that won’t end up in the landfill.
“We are excited to announce the winners of the Build with Bags grant program,” says Michelle Hurd, president of the Iowa Grocery Industry Association. “The Build with Bags program continues to encourage individuals to recycle their plastic bags so those bags can be turned into products that beautify our communities. This year’s grant winners are reaping the rewards of their recycling efforts, and we hope other communities will follow suit and expand their recycling efforts.”
Applications were evaluated based on set criteria that included a statement of need for the grant and the community’s own plastic bag recycling efforts. Grant applicants were also asked to verify the recycled plastic content in the products they were looking to purchase and obtain an endorsement letter from a local grocer who is supportive of the community’s project and recycling plans.
Store Director Matt Pertzborn, who works at the Hy-Vee Health Market in West Des Moines, played an important role in making this grant possible. Pertzborn wrote a letter of support on behalf of Brookview Elementary School PTO that led to it being selected to receive a grant.
“While the endorsement letter was not the most weighted category in the selection process, it is one of the most vital to the Build with Bags program,” Hurd explains. “In the program committee’s eyes, it reflects how the applying community is working with its local grocers to establish long-term projects and goals that help raise the awareness of plastic bag recycling.”
Encouraging purchases of furniture and equipment made from recycled plastic for parks and schools through its grant program is one of four goals established by Build with Bags partners. The other three include increasing the amount of plastic bags recycled, reducing the consumption of plastic bags and increasing the safe use of reusable bags.
The Hy-Vee Health Market in West Des Moines is one of many participating retailers, including Fareway Stores and Hy-Vee locations statewide plus many independent grocers.
Build with Bags, a cooperative effort of the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, Keep Iowa Beautiful, Metro Waste Authority in Des Moines, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Plastic Recycling of Iowa Falls, was originally launched in August 2009.
