Gardening is supposed to be a feel-good activity -- healthy and green and all that jazz. What bothered Gina Adams-Levy about it was all the plastic debris she was left with after planting. Flats and containers were piling up, so she looked into options for recycling them -- and found none. She took matters into her own hands and started
Peace, Love & Planet, (PLP) a non-profit dedicated to recycling garden plastic not recycled curbside and providing environmental education throughout Metro Detroit.
Two years ago, Adams-Levy, who is Plymouth-based, began her efforts at the Northville Farmers Market; this year PLP collects gardening plastic at five nurseries, two farmers markets, and a wholesale landscaper. She collected just over 7,000 pounds in total; 6,700 were recycled in-state at East Jordan Plastics and the rest was reused by farmers. The sale of the plastic netted just $465, but Adams-Levy says her not-for-profit status allows for other revenue streams, such as grants, to support operations.
PLP travels to various schools to teach kids about not just the importance of recycling, but the impact of consumption in general. "Not only am I concerned about the finite space we have here in Michigan for all of our waste and the nonrenewable resources that we are consuming with all these plastics, but in curbing our petroleum appetite, and reducing and reusing as much as possible," says Adams-Levy.
She will be conducting a series of workshops designed for children and their parents this fall and plans to continue to ramp up both her recycling and educational efforts in the coming year. "It's a hot topic, being green," she says. "But it's not a fad. (We) really need to take it seriously."
Source: Gina Adams-Levy, Peace, Love & PlanetWriter: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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