BCLS Celebrates Earth Day with New Initiative to Remove Plastic Bags from Library

A “Green” Project with the Berkeley County Library System to REDUCE plastic bag use, EDUCATE environmental matters and the available services in our community, and ENCOURAGE reduced waste and a mindset for recycling and reusing.

Berkeley County Library System is excited to announce a new “Go Green” initiative for our customers and the communities we serve titled #BorrowMoreWasteLess. In this initiative, we will remove all plastic bags from our library branches and will coordinate a series of programs to educate the community on environmental matters and the available environmental services in Berkeley County. We hope these efforts will encourage a mindset for recycling, reusing, and reducing waste. April 22 is Earth Day. We thought this would be the perfect time to launch this initiative by giving a free reusable bag to our customers and offering the first round of educational programs.

Starting Monday, April 23, all BCLS library branches will be giving away free reusable bags to library customers while supplies last. Customers can also receive a Reusable Bag Credit during the month of June this summer. This one-time credit will apply up to $1 towards any fees or fines on the customer’s account if a customer uses any reusable bag when borrowing library materials.

The reusable bags were generously sponsored by AM Conservation Group, Home Telecom, and Berkeley Electric. Other partners of this initiative who will assist with educational programs include Santee Cooper, Berkeley County Water and Sanitation, Keep Berkeley Beautiful, Clemson Cooperative Extension, Berkeley Soil and Water Conservation District, and Lowcountry Raptors.