Samarkand Residents Donate 45 Big Bags of Plastic to Be Reused

Took Advantage of Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners’ Planet Protector Program

Credit: Courtesy

Adhering to social distancing guidelines can mean sacrificing sustainability for safety.

For Covenant Living at the Samarkand, this has resulted in copious amounts of plastic bags piling up after community dining was replaced by bagged meal deliveries. Not willing to accept this as an inevitable consequence of pandemic protocol, environmentally savvy residents decided to find a way to recycle their meal bags.

Upon discovering Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners’ Planet Protector program, Covenant residents found both a solution for their plastic and a community partner in their recycling efforts.

Sasha Ablitt, the owner of Ablitt’s, started her recycling program more than 10 years ago. To accommodate demand, Ablitt has since transitioned from a drop-off model to an event model, where participants learn how to sort plastic into bundles that are then picked up by the Trex Company, where the plastic is reused to make environmentally friendly products.

These events, dubbed “recycling happy hours” by Ablitt, allow volunteers to meet like-minded residents while learning about the ins and outs of plastic recycling from sorting mentors.

“It’s been a phenomenal success,” Ablitt said of the events, which have been in full swing since July 2020.

This success is seen through the involvement of Covenant residents, who, through Planet Protectors, have been able to act on their mission to recycle.

Just this week, residents brought thousands of bags to be put toward recycling efforts, which equated to well over 400 pounds of plastic.

Covenant Living has also volunteered at prior Planet Protector events and is one event away from becoming an official partner of the program, said Ablitt.

Ablitt invites anyone interested to enroll as a volunteer for the program. To do so, email filmplastic@ablitts.com.

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