SHERBURNE – Join Friends of Rogers at 10:30 a.m. on May 2 to repurpose clothing and reduce plastic disposable bag use. Bring your old t-shirts and turn them into funky new reusable totes

“Converting low-value materials, such as an old t-shirt, into a high-value product, such as a unique and reusable grocery bag, is the text-book definition of upcycling,” said Sarah Freedman, Friends of Rogers environmental educator. “Upcycling reduces landfill waste and decreases trash leaving your home … and cutting back on the need to take out trash is a win for everyone.”

Why are plastic bags so harmful to the environment? According to an article by the Huffington Post, plastic bags take anywhere from 15 to 1,000 years to decompose, and yet “only one percent of plastic bags are recycled in the United States. The rest end up in landfills, the ocean, or some other place in the environment. There's actually a giant garbage heap made mostly of plastic floating in the ocean that's twice the size of the United States,” said the website.