LEHIGHTON, Pa. — Employees with the Lehighton Downtown Partnership are looking to collect 500 pounds of plastic by September 8.
"That is a lot of plastic. We're probably at about 140 pounds right now," said Bambi Elsasser, Lehighton Main Street Manager.
The Lehighton Downtown Partnership, the nonprofit organization, working on revitalizing the borough in Carbon County, is asking for the community's help in its latest project, collecting 500 pounds of plastic film.
"Grocery bags, and kinds of bag that are film, Ziplock bags, ice bags, envelopes from Amazon, shrink wrap, bubble wrap. We're collecting all of that, and then I weigh it, and then we take it to the distribution center," Elsasser said.
Trex will donate a park bench to the borough in Carbon County if the 500-pound goal is reached. The Lehighton Downtown Partnership employees are doing everything they can to get the word out, including hosting borough-wide cleanups and collecting at other borough events.
"This weekend at Wine on the River, we'll have a Jeep, and everybody that brings plastic will get a ticket, and we'll be raffling off bottles of wine throughout the day," said Elsasser.
The plan is for the donated bench to go at the D&L Trailhead, just another improvement to the borough, all while taking care of the planet.
"We are really working hard to revitalize the downtown area. We want to keep it clean. We want to get new businesses in. We have been getting some new businesses, so it's exciting. It's an exciting time," Elsasser said.
The Lehighton Downtown Partnership has to collect all 500 pounds of plastic by September 8 to get the bench. The drop-off bin for the plastic is located on the side porch of the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Office at 137 South Street in Lehighton.
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