The city of Greensboro is joining communities throughout the world to participate in “No Impact Week” from March 10th-17th. The Katherine Clay Edwards Family Library in Greensboro will hold a week full of events on living without plastic.
The "No Impact Week" events are sponsored by the Greensboro Public Library and the Center for Principled Problem Solving at Guilford College.
Melanie Buckingham, the Environmental Resources Librarian at the Katherine Clay Edwards Family Library, says the festivities will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, March 8 with an art opening at Guilford College Founder's Hall.
"It's a researcher from UNCW, who is exhibiting materials she has gotten from marine debris sights around the world, so she is explaining the impact of plastics in the ocean,” says Buckingham.
On Saturday, March 9, from 10 a.m.-Noon, the library will host Beth Terry, the writer of "Plastic Free".
“Terry has managed to live without disposable and one time use plastics and will share how we can reduce our reliance on plastics," says Buckingham.
The “No Impact Project” is an international, environmental, non-profit organization founded in the spring of 2009. It was inspired by the “No Impact Man” book, film, and blog.
The week-long events at the library in Greensboro are free and also include movie screenings and other activities. Buckingham encourages people to register online for the events. But she says even if people can't make it, they can still participate in going green for the week.
"There are some easy things to do. Online, you can get a tip sheet for Greensboro and it gives you information about getting local food, about what is recyclable in Greensboro, about ways you can save water, about ways you can save energy and they are very accessible things that people can do," says Buckingham.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, of the 31 million tons of plastic waste generated in the U.S. in 2010, only 8 percent was recovered for recycling.
For more information on the events and how to participate in going green all year long, visit noimpactproject.org/Greensboro .