Lower Burrell Farmers Market seeks plastic bags to win a free bench

Lower Burrell’s farmers market aims to turn trash to treasure — or bags to benches — through a recycling campaign.

The market entered the Trex Bags to Benches recycling program July 22. It has a bin on site to collect plastic bags, which market organizers periodically weigh to see their progress.

If the collection of bags weighs at least 500 pounds by the Jan. 14 deadline, the market will win a free bench from Trex.

“I thought that the farmers market would be a good place to run such a campaign because patrons of farmers markets are often environmentally friendly,” said Carley Logan, the market’s co-chair. “I feel that we will be able to reach the 500-pound requirement before the end of the campaign.”

The market has collected 75 pounds so far, Logan said.

“The response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said. “We now have ‘regulars’ bringing us their bags every week. Even community members who do not frequent the market are saving their plastic. Some are sending it to the market with their friends, neighbors, and coworkers. My personal acquaintances are bringing them to my door.”

People can donate grocery bags, bread bags, case overwrap, dry cleaning bags, newspaper sleeves, ice bags, wood pellet bags, Ziploc or other recloseable bags, produce bags, bubble wrap, salt bags and cereal bags.

Allison Kurtz, a spokeswoman for Trex, said the company began working with communities to recycle plastic film in 2006. The NexTrex recycling program has evolved from there, she said.

There are approximately 3,300 community organizations across the country involved in the Bags to Benches program, she said.

Plastic film collected through the program is used to make deck boards, Kurtz said. The company upcycles about 400 million pounds of plastic film waste per year to make its decking. The benches community organizations receive are part of the company’s outdoor furniture collection.

In the past 30 years, Trex has diverted more than five billion pounds of plastic film from winding up in landfills and waterways, Kurtz said.

Bags can be dropped off on Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the market, at the Bon Air Elementary School parking lot, 3260 Leechburg Road.

Logan said additional collection boxes can be found at City Hall and soon will be at each Burrell School District building.