Barbara Barr Bengen
The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke has transformed 5 tons of recycled soft plastics into beautiful all-weather benches. We are grateful to the people of Catalina, SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, Oracle, and San Manuel who have been instrumental in helping us reach this milestone in just 2 1/2 short years. Just think of those 5 tons of soft plastics that have been diverted from landfills or possibly litter. You can easily become a part of this!
Daily, soft plastics invade our lives. It can’t go out on the curb with other recycling. If you throw it in the trash, we don’t know how many hundreds of years it will last in the landfills. But in our area, there is something you can do!
Start small with a plastic bag, and start collecting all those soft plastic items that are a part of our everyday lives. You may even want to invest in a special waste can or container to designate for soft plastics. Below is a list of some of the soft plastics you can recycle:
Items Which Are Included:
* Plastic bags
* e-commerce mailers from places like Amazon, etc.
* Plastic bags for frozen foods (cleaned)
* Meat wrap (cleaned)
* Produce bags and wrap (cleaned)
* Ziplock and storage bags (cleaned)
* Bread bags
* Cereal bag liners
* Ice bags
* Newspaper sleeves
* Dry cleaning bags
* Bubble wrap
* Case overwrap
The company that does our recycling no longer accepts dog food, bird seed, or fertilizer bags.
Soft Plastic Drop-off Points
SaddleBrooke:
* Pickleball Courts
* Dog Park
* Desert Life Pharmacy
* Diane & Bill Demeroutis: 62492 E. Ironwood Drive
* Fran & Fred Lowy: 63247 Brooke Park Drive
* Linda & John Howard: 39106 S. Riverwood Court
SaddleBrooke Ranch:
* Pickleball Courts
* Gail & Tom Fraioli; 30808 S. Greenstone Dr.
Catalina:
* Santa Catalina Catholic Church
* Senior Village
Oracle:
* Oracle Community Center
* San Manuel
* San Manuel Community Center
It’s a little thing to do, but it makes such a big impact. Start collecting your soft plastics today so you can provide a seat for someone tomorrow. Some of our benches can be seen at Senior Village, Santa Catalina Catholic Church, and Oracle State Park.
The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke continues to seek community partners to help with this project. We need drop-off points, locations for benches, and groups and individuals who want to support this effort. You can reach us at saddlebrookerotary.com, Tom Fraioli by phone at 425-239-9830, by email at rotarySBAZ@gmail.com.
What is Rotary? Rotary is the world’s largest volunteer organization and is found in more countries than the Red Cross, Starbucks, or McDonald’s. We are working to make a difference.
The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke is an award-winning club. We meet Thursdays at 11 a.m. for lunch at the Ranch House at SaddleBrooke Ranch. Following a brief meeting in the Ballroom, there is an educational program or speaker. Rotary is open to those who live or work in SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, and the surrounding communities. For more information, check out saddlebrookerotary.com or contact Gail Fraioli at queenbee5742@comcast.net or call 425-387-6433.