Scottsdale’s Bench the Bag Program Addresses Plastic Bag Waste

1. Scottsdale’s Bench the Bag
Program Addresses Plastic
Bag Waste
By: Jeff Drobny

2. Scottsdale’s Bench the Bag Program
Addresses Plastic Bag Waste
After 20 years working with Cargill in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jeff Drobny led acquisition
efforts of the Cargill subsidiary Black River Asset Management to Garda Capital Partners,
where he now serves as managing partner and chief investment officer. Although he
works in Minnesota, Jeff Drobny enjoys spending time in Arizona and maintains a part-
time residence in Scottsdale, Arizona.

3. Scottsdale’s Bench the Bag Program
Addresses Plastic Bag Waste
Plastic bags are a major threat to Scottsdale’s recycling program. As the biggest
contaminant, they can damage the automated sorting equipment used at the recycling
facility. So this year, eleven Scottsdale schools participated in a program called “Bench
the Bag” to compete to see which school could collect and properly recycle the most
plastic bags.

4. Scottsdale’s Bench the Bag Program
Addresses Plastic Bag Waste
Together, the schools collected about 6,800 pounds of plastic bags while learning about
the importance of recycling and the dangers of plastic in landfills. Lexis Preparatory
School of Scottsdale won the contest, as each student collected an average of eight
pounds of plastic.