Batavia community benefits by recycling plastic bags

BATAVIA ? Batavia residents and visitors are experiencing the benefits recycling can provide firsthand through new a ADA-accessible picnic table, trash receptacle and two benches set in the city?s pavilion.

Not only were the items purchased with $2,000 from the Iowa Grocery Industry Association?s Build with Bags grant program, but they are made from 98 percent recycled plastic, with between 10 percent and 25 percent of that recycled plastic coming from recycled plastic bags.

Batavia Mayor Tina McCoy said the Build with Bags grant has given Batavia an opportunity to promote reusable grocery bags and to make people aware of the plastic bag recycling available at the primary grocery stores that serve the community, including the Fairfield Hy-Vee Food and Drug Store.

According to McCoy, Batavia city councilwoman Lynda Yochum spearheaded the effort to apply for the Build with Bags grant.

Yochum recruited Matt Bauman, a senior planner with Area 15 Regional Planning, to write the grant application, and she procured a letter of support from Fairfield Hy-Vee manager of store operations Dave Bertling.

In his letter, Bertling explained Hy-Vee offers five types of reusable bags costing between 99 cents and $1.99.

?When a customer brings in their reusable bags for us to bag their purchases, we offer them a credit of 5 cents per bag,? he wrote.

According to Bertling, Hy-Vee?s employees are trained to place a minimum of eight items in each plastic bag and to encourage customers to buy reusable bags so that they use fewer plastic bags.

Bertling also explained in his letter that Hy-Vee has containers in a visible spot to encourage customers to bring any plastic bag back to be recycled.

According to the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, 36 applications were submitted for consideration of a grant, and 24 recipients, including Batavia, were selected by a committee of five representatives in support of the Build with Bags program.

Each committee member individually scored applications prior to meeting as a group to combine the scores for an overall point total. The applicants with the most points created the recipient list that was awarded a grand total of $44,318.46.

Applications were evaluated based on set criteria, including a statement of need for the grant and the community?s own plastic bag recycling efforts. Applicants also were asked to verify the recycled plastic content in the furniture they were planning to purchase and to obtain an endorsement letter from a local grocer supportive of the community?s project and recycling plans. Geographic location also was a factor as the committee wanted to disperse grant awards across the state.