Plastic Awareness & Reduction
Wayah Bald
Bring Your Own Bag Haywood
EAC volunteers sew durable, reusable shopping bags out of donated fabrics and repurposed feed sacks. The bags are given out at outreach events and in exchange for donations.
Refill Waynesville
Each month, the EAC sets up a refill station, selling Earth friendly products at wholesale prices. Customers purchase products by the ounce, refilling containers they brought or using a cleaned and recycled container from the EAC. Find out about our products and next set up here.
Grocery Store Score Cards
The EAC is developing a way to rate the eco-friendliness of local grocery stores, so our community can remain informed.
Plastic Free Events and Spaces
The EAC is available to consult your business or organization on ways to provide a plastic free kitchen or break room area, or host a plastic free social event.
Movie: We're All Plastic People Now
We’re All Plastic People Now investigates the hidden story of plastic and its effects on human health. In an era of throw-away ease, convenience has cost us our well-being. We’re All Plastic People Now asks the question "how much evidence do we need before we decide to take action?"
New from PBS
Plastics and the Threat to Human Health:
A New Film Documentary
The EAC hosted a showing of the recently released Canadian documentary - “Plastic People” with a panel discussion before the viewing.
Featured on the panel were Haywood Waterways Executive Director, Preston Jacobsen, and Western Carolina University Professor Jerry Miller, presenting their findings on microplastics in Haywood County creeks and rivers, and physician Christine Mauck, MD, MPH from Asheville discussing the impact of microplastics on human health.
Supported Projects
These projects are facilitated by other organizations, but align with the EAC mission.
Our Past Accomplishments
3 R'S: REDUCE • REUSE • RECYCLE
A. Approached the Town of Waynesville Board to include recycling pick-up. The town reacted positively and purchased bins for all town residents, and a weekly pick up of trash that can be recycled began. Instructions about what you should recycle and what you shouldn't was distributed to residents as well.
B. On Earth Day 2022, the Bring Your Own Bag Haywood project (BYOBH) distributed over 2,000 reusable bags at 14 different store sites. We had over 50 volunteers for distribution and over 50 volunteers in the making of these bags. Both the Town of Waynesville and the Town of Canton passed proclamations declaring Earth Day 2022 a day to reduce the use of single use plastic bags, and other single use plastics to reduce plastic pollution affecting our community.
C. BYOBH has continued to distribute reusable bags at many stores, farmers’ markets, schools, distributing numerous of bags including recently 80 bags to school age children with an educational program