North to encourage residents to stop using plastic bags

NORTH ATTLEBORO, MA - Reminding residents to keep plastic grocery bags out of recycling toters has proven to be a challenge for Solid Waste Director Michele Bernier. So, she’s hoping a new program will encourage residents to bring reusable grocery bags to the supermarkets – and earn a little money for the school department. “I have been working like a dog to get plastic bags out of our recycling carts, and then along comes a behavior modification program to do just that. The upside is that our schools can raise some money doing it, too,” Bernier said. Each time participants shop at Shaw’s and bring their own reusable bags, 2 cents of every $5 spent will go to a school’s parent teacher organization. To participate, visit getmyeco.com, where participants can select a school for donations and download a cellphone app, which must be scanned at the register when buying groceries. Currently, only Shaw’s supermarket is participating locally, but efforts are under way to get other stores on board. On Thursday, Kristen Brown from MyEco and volunteers from the schools will be at Shaw’s training cashiers and signing people up for the program.