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By ERIC KEPHAS

PDT Staff Writer

Kroger customers are always looking for ways to save money, but Kate Sowards and Jenny Richards are hoping those who visit the Portsmouth store will also be in the mood to save the planet.

Sowards of the Scioto County Soil and Water Conservation District and Richards of the Shawnee State Park will be at the Portsmouth Kroger on Tuesday, Nov. 15, from noon to 8 p.m. They will be collecting plastic bags to recycle, providing recycling information and even turning recycled goods into a community art project.

“It’s an America Recycles thing, which is a national holiday now. It is sponsored by Keep America Beautiful,” Sowards said. “We’re going to be accepting, as Kroger’s always does, plastic bags recycling. That can be including bread bags, things like that.”

Sowards said about 30 percent of the nation recycles, which saves about 250,000,000 barrels of oil a year. As for those who don’t recycle, Sowards said it’s typically because they don’t understand the process or consider it to be inconvenient. Sowards said that perception simply isn’t accurate, and is looking forward to the opportunity to explain recycling to any skeptics she might encounter.

“I’m just going to tell them how easy it could be. How most of the recycling places here … are mixed-recycling. You can just drop them all off in one big bag, cans and plastics,” Sowards said.

Her goal is to increase the area’s understanding of recycling in hopes it will eliminate the barriers that keep people from doing it. The inclusion of a community art project will prevent their stay at Kroger from being all work and no play, however.

“We’re going to do a large mosaic with lids from plastic bottles and the metal lids from glass bottles,” Sowards said. “We’re going to hopefully have some safe but crumbled glass to use and then we’re just painting and things like that… Jenny and I both love working with kids so we’re just going to be there working on it ourselves and helping others.”

America Recycles Day has been celebrated on Nov. 15 since 1997. For more information, visit www.AmericaRecyclesDay.org.

ERIC KEPHAS can be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 234, or ekephas@heartlandpublications.com.