The Rotary Club of Granby has embarked on a new venture to keep plastic bags and stretchable plastic out of landfills and the oceans in a partnership with Trex decking and City Market.

“We are taking on the plastics problem locally,” said Lesley Janusz, coordinator of the Granby Rotary Club’s Trex recycling program. “Plastic film is not accepted at recycling centers, but we can help by taking your plastic film, such as grocery bags and stretchable plastic, and recycling it through the Trex recycling program and City Market.”

The program works because Trex, a major U.S. manufacturer of composite decking, benches and railings, accepts plastic bags to be used in making its decking material. Trex rewards donors of the plastic with a new composite bench for every 500 pounds of plastic donated.

So far, since the program began in the Granby area last fall, the Granby Rotary Club has collected nearly 500 pounds of this plastic. Soon, a new bench will be on the way.

Granby City Market is a Trex recycling partner, Janusz said. The store will collect plastic refuse, get it to a distribution point in the Denver area, and then Trex uses it in making its building products.

“All you need to do is collect and weigh the stretchable plastic items, report the weight to Granby Rotary, and deliver it to City Market. Granby Rotary can even help with the delivery,” she said.

There are collection boxes for the plastic material at locations in the county such as at the Granby Library, at the Granby recycling center by Country Ace Hardware on Saturday mornings, in front of Country Ace Hardware and at the Fraser recreation center. The club is also working closely with local businesses that end up with large amounts of used plastic from shipping and accepting that into the program.

The type of plastic materials that are acceptable for this program includes grocery bags, bread bags, bubble wrap, dry cleaning bags, newspaper sleeves, ice bags and more. Plastic that does not stretch, such as chip bags or frozen food bags, aren’t acceptable.

“Remember, all you have to do is collect acceptable items, weigh them, report the weight to me, Lesley Janusz, and deliver to Granby City Market, or call me to arrange pick up,” she said.

Janusz can be reached at 708-341-4390 or mlesleyj@gmail.com.