RECYCLING PROGRAM — FAA students at Indian Creek High School are collecting plastics for the Bags to Benches campaign. Donations will be accepted through April 4. To contribute, visit the school from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Learning Fair, or drop off at participating locations. -- Contributed

WINTERSVILLE — Members of Indian Creek High School’s FFA are closing in on their goal of recycling plastic bags for a unique project.

Members have spent the last year gathering items for the Bags to Benches project, and need only a few hundred pounds more to reach their goal. According to statistics, more than 1 million plastic bags are used each year, and an estimated 73 percent of beach litter is plastic.

However, the FFA is doing its part to help the environment. The group is collecting bags and related materials for the purpose of giving them new life. Many companies are offering the opportunity to recycle the bags into furniture — and the club is taking advantage.

Adviser Crystal Fluharty explained the collection is set to wrap up April 4, but there are several options to still donate to the cause. Schools and businesses have been designated as collection sites, although the public can bring their donations to the high school’s Learning Fair, set from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Items which are being accepted include Ziplock and similar baggies, bread bags, grocery bags, bubble wrap, ice bags and cereal box liners.

Fluharty said 1,000 pounds of plastic is needed for the project, with the club already having raised more than 600 pounds.

“Bags to Benches is a project where a group will collect 1,000 pounds of plastic bags, bubble wrap and related items, and it will be turned into a bench,” Fluharty said. “This is our ICHS FFA community project.” She said the project began during the school’s annual Learning Fair last April. Students and community members have been helping with the campaign ever since.

“We only need 386.12 pounds more, and bags can be donated to Indian Creek High School, Indian Creek Middle School, M&M Hardware, Crossroads North River Church and Pet Supplies Plus,” Fluharty continued. “Donors should let them know it is for ICHS Bags to Benches. The Wintersville Woman’s Club and other businesses have started to contribute as well, and the community has really been pitching in.”

More than 110 pounds worth of material is still waiting to be recycled. The final product will be placed on campus, Fluharty said, noting one spot being looked at is the girls’ softball field.

“We have drop boxes at different locations,” Fluharty concluded, adding the students are collecting bags during their free time.

“They have to bag everything in clear bags and weigh it,” she noted. “I think we will do it every year as an FFA project, and do one bench a year. The goal is to bring attention to plastic pollution in our community and around the world.”

Any businesses interested in participating can contact Fluharty at crystal.fluharty@iclsd.org.