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York City sets goal to be first U.S. city with zero plastic waste

The announcement was accompanied by the opening of three more plastic waste collection sites in the city, bringing the total to five.

YORK, Pa. — York City officials announced an ambitious new goal on May 30 to become the first city in the U.S. to have zero plastic waste.

The announcement was accompanied by the opening of three more plastic waste collection sites in the city, bringing the total to five.

The sites are part of an initiative called “The Bag That Builds,” a partnership between the city and Center for Regenerative Design and Collaboration (CRDC), a company that recycles plastic into a concrete additive.

CRDC opened its plant in York in October 2022.

“It’s literally a dream come true and an effort come true,” Mayor Michael Helfrich said of the partnership.

CRDC accepts only plastic, but any kind of plastic.

“We’re getting car bumpers. We’re getting coolers, plastic lawn chairs, kiddie pools, you name it,” said CRDC co-founder and COO Ross Gibby.

Gibby says the toughest part of getting to 100% plastic waste-free is getting people to put only trash in the trash can, and only plastic in the green bag.

“I think it’s going to be incredibly challenging, but I think the issue with plastic is not that plastic is bad. It’s that there isn’t enough plastic waste management,” he said.

York area residents can pick up free recycled green plastic bags at the CRDC factory office on 390 Eberts Ln. Officials encourage residents to use only the green bags for plastic waste.

“I have been such a huge advocate of supporting CRDC and now all of my plastic waste goes into a green bag and gets to CRDC to get built into a great project,” said Leigh Ann Wilson of Manchester Township, who serves on the Rotary Club of York’s Preserve Planet Earth committee.

Officials say the next stage of their plan will be public education efforts on how to properly sort waste.

WellSpan Health has also committed to using CRDC’s recycled plastic product in the concrete used to build a planned expansion at WellSpan York Hospital.

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