The E.A.Ks

2. Environmentally Active Kids The E.A.Ks Vs. The Plastic Bag(s)

3. If you have a problem… • …500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year… • …that is over one million bags per minute…

4. If you have a problem… …less than 1% of these bags are recycled.

5. If you have a problem… It takes 60 to 100 million barrels of oil to make one year’s worth of plastic bags for the world …

6. If you have a problem… Millions of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish are killed every year by plastic bags…

7. But you can do something about it… The E.A.Ks club took on the plastic bag problem. How did we do it, you ask? • We started by getting our whole school involved in a school spirit project: Every one in the school made a tie-dye cotton shopping bag.

8. But you can do something about it… We made 288 cotton bags, which we have sold throughout the community.

9. But you can do something about it… It is estimated that 1 cloth bag saves 6 plastic bags a week.

10. But you can do something about it… That’s 24 plastic bags a month and 288 a year!

11. But you can do something about it… That means that our cloth bags could keep 82,944 plastic bags from entering the environment every year!

12. But you can do something about it… The E.A.Ks club took their case to the Mayor of Oliver, hoping to ban single use bags (paper as well as plastic) from their town.

13. But you can do something about it… 22 students and their parents filled the town meeting hall. They were taped live and appeared in the local newspaper.

15. Then you don’t have a problem.

17. Summary! Division 6 and the E.A.K.’s club  were concerned about the images and data that kept coming to them regarding the problems associated with plastic bags and their impact on the environment. Consequently, we decided to focus on the reduction of plastic this year and what better place to start than with the single use shopping bag. To  spread the word and as a school spirit project we had every student in the school tie- dye a cotton bag. We hoped this project would  raise awareness amongst the students and  encourage them to take reusable bags with them when they went shopping. We completed 288 bags which we have sold within the school community and in different stores around Oliver.  It is estimated that 1 cloth bag saves 6 bags a week, 24 bags a month, 288 in a year. So, if all our bags get used we could save 82,944 plastic bags from entering the environment in one year! We approached the Mayor of Oliver with the hope of working together with the town to  ban  single use shopping bags  - paper as well as plastic. We needed to include paper bags in the ban as we felt that a return to paper would be a step backwards. An increased demand for paper bags would double greenhouse emissions, create an increase in waste and generate 50 times more water pollutants in the manufacturing process than in the manufacturing of plastic bags. The mayor invited us to bring a delegation to a Town Council meeting. We took 22 students and their parents and filled the town’s meeting hall. The students made a very strong presentation and we are awaiting the results. The students have had lots of positive feedback from members of the public. Their presentation as a delegation was taped live and aired on channel 18. The Oliver Chronicle - our local newspaper put a great write up in the paper. We are hopeful that if a ban is not possible than at the very least our project has raised awareness and more  people will consistently use reusable bags rather than single use bags! The E.A.K.S. also remain active in their quest to have all B.C. school districts ban the use of diesel fuel on school grounds.