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Student recycling project repurposes old shirts into shopping bags

Posted at 2:22 PM, Feb 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-01 19:43:00-05

BELTON, TX — Students at South Middle School in Belton collected old t-shirts to repurpose into shopping bags. Middle schoolers are learning the value in repurposing old items and reducing waste.

The global issue surrounding plastic waste is the primary focus behind the project. The school spread the word about their unique collection and began constructing the bags.

"These students were born into a world, they're dealing with the mistakes of previous generations. And they have to take this into their own hands," said Nat Giambalvo.

Globally, a trillion single-use plastic bags are used each year, that tallies up to nearly two million each minute.

Currently, 100 billion plastic bags are used by U.S. consumers annually, which breaks down to almost one bag per person each day. Laid end-to-end, the bags could circle the equator one thousand 330 times.