Tuesday, March 1, 2011

2005-2010

Pollution Solutions is Resources for Health's award winning program that grew out of a RFH Roots & Shoots service-learning project. Between 2005 and 2010, we distributed over 20,000 reusable cotton shopping bags. Children and adults decorated their own shopping bags to take home following our educational and entertaining presentations. Here's a brief history:

2005:
Launched for Earth Day at SunFestival Southwest, the project was inspired by the number of bags one family estimated they saved from the landfill by reusing their own cloth bags for grocery shopping.

2006
:
In honor of Earth Day, Pollution Solutions helped launch the Roots & Shoots National Reusable Bag Campaign, inviting over a thousand groups to unite in ridding our communities and our world of disposable bags.

2007
: RFH Roots & Shoots was selected to present Pollution Solutions in the Regional Showcase at the National Service Learning Conference, where Jane Goodall was the keynote speaker.

2008
: With a grant from the Arizona Recycling Coalition, we presented the program to 5,000
youth during summer programming at all the Phoenix Public Libraries and Phoenix Afterschool Center (PAC) programs. In part due to our efforts, a new bill also was entered into the Arizona State Legislature proposing a retailer tax on plastic and paper bags.

2009
: RFH Roots & Shoots leaders traveled to Florida to accept an Environmental Excellence Award. With funds from the award, we continued giving presentations and distributing reusable bags at locations such as REI.

2010
: The last of the Pollution Solutions bags were distributed as part of the Phoenix
Country Day School's annual Earth Day event in 2010, our third year represented there.

Today, we see reusable bags commonly used everywhere and are pleased and grateful to have played an important role in this movement!

No comments: