More than 30 Bordentown residents have committed to reducing their use of plastic this July as part of a global initiative to cut down on waste, including one particular small business on Farnsworth Avenue.
Sarah McEwan, owner of Mimosa Goods located at 117 Farnsworth Ave. in Bordentown City, said she devoted avoiding single-use plastic in her household for the entire month of July. She said she also worked to rid her business of single-use plastic as well.
This decision by McEwan comes as part of the “Plastic-Free July” initiative that began in Australia in 2011 as a part of a local movement to encourage individuals, businesses and communities to avoid single use plastics such as bags, utensils, cups and straws.
The initiative also aims to reduce the amount of plastic recycling generated. Over the years, it has become a global campaign with millions of people around the world signing up each July.
“I first read about the challenge late last year when I was starting to notice how much plastic my own family generates,” McEwan said. “I’m a good recycler, but after learning about the amount of waste in the plastic recycling process and the environmental impact of that waste, I wanted to focus more on reducing and reusing whenever possible.
“Plastic is everywhere, and avoiding it has been really difficult. Signing on to this challenge publicly as part of a local group has helped, both to keep me accountable and have support in finding solutions to our plastic challenges,” McEwan explained.
To help gain support for the program, McEwan said she put out the call for friends and neighbors to join the challenge and said she was immediately joined by “Project Bolsa,” a local program aimed to help the Bordentown community to particularly avoid plastic shopping bags.
“Project Bolsa” was started by Girl Scout Troop 24137 from Bordentown as part of its Bronze Award project. Its initiative is to stymie the use of too many plastic bags in the world and to make reusable bags by up-cycling old t-shirts and turning them into shopping bags.
Troop 24137 members volunteer by making and handing out free “Project Bolsa” bags at the Bordentown City Farmer’s Market each weekend as well as the Bordentown City Green Fair and other local events.
Since the partnership began, McEwan said she has enjoyed her work with the troop, and is already seeing an influence in the Bordentown community.
“We’ve been supporting Girl Scout Troop 24137’s ‘Project Bolsa’ campaign for over a year, by collecting donated t-shirts for them and helping to promote the project within the business district and at events like the Green Fair and our local farmer’s market,” she said. They have kept this project going long after completing their Bronze Award, and ‘Project Bolsa’ continues to grow.
“The troop’s commitment to the environmental health of this community is inspiring. The troop volunteers at local events and at our farmers market for hours every Sunday, making t-shirt bags and spreading the word on why we need to kick the plastic bag habit. I’m in awe of their dedication, and love seeing ‘Project Bolsa’ bags being used in the community,” she added.
The troop connected with Mimosa Goods as a donation drop-off spot, and bags can be picked up at the shop as well. The project’s goal is to supply the city with bag stands where customers can use a reusable bag when they forget theirs at home.
As a community, challenge participants are aimed to work together creatively to figure out how to reduce plastic waste and pollution. To help keep everyone motivated, McEwan said there is a weekly prize drawing of eco-friendly items donated by Mimosa Goods, which she hopes to continue in the proceeding months.
Although the partnership with Troop 24137 to encourage others to cut down on plastic waste has sparked support throughout the area, McEwan said it’s not the first time her business has aimed to have impact on the environment.
“Mimosa Goods is committed to making eco-friendly products available to the community,” she said. “We’ve participated in the Bordentown City Green Fair since 2016 and received the Green Business Recognition Award that same year, but this is the first time the business has participated in a project like this.”
As people around the globe work to reduce the use of single-use plastics in their communities, McEwan said that awareness for this type of waste is especially significant in the Bordentown area because of its neighboring ecosystems at risk of pollution.
“Reducing plastic pollution is especially important for Bordentown, given our close proximity to the Delaware River, and we’re fortunate to already have a very active green community,” McEwan explained. “The Bordentown City Environmental Commission and the Green Team do a fantastic job providing education about how we can make changes to reduce our environmental footprints. This challenge has shown me that as individuals, we can absolutely reduce our use of plastic, but to increase the impact we need to work with schools, businesses and the municipality.
“By talking about this challenge and sharing our successes and struggles, we’re raising awareness about why reducing plastic pollution is important and how we can’t do it alone. I hope that by continuing this conversation after Plastic-Free July ends, we can expand the reach of initiatives like ‘Project Bolsa’ and find local solutions to some of the other difficult plastic challenges,” she added.
Individuals, businesses and entire communities interested in participating in “Plastic-Free July” can register at https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/ and commit to kicking the single-use plastic habit at their choice of levels such as avoiding single-use plastic packaging; target takeaway items like bags, bottles, straws and coffee cups; or go completely plastic free.
People can also learn more about the program by contacting Mimosa Goods or “Project Bolsa,” and by visiting https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/.
