NOTEBOOK: In the bag

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The Metro Waste Authority staged a good-natured competition among local cities to see which one could collect the most plastic grocery bags. Residents were encouraged to trade the bags for a reusable tote.
 
We are here to report the winner in the per capita contest: Alleman. For sheer weight collected, Grimes collected the most gross weight. Both cities will get a park bench made out of recycled plastic bags. 
 
Alleman collected a pound per 443 residents, for a total of 320 pounds. By comparison, the area’s largest city, Des Moines, came in at 116 pounds. 
 
Grimes collected just shy of 500 pounds of plastic. That’s a lot of bags. 
 
“More than 3,168 pounds of bags were collected for recycling! That’s 1,645 more than last year,” Metro Waste Authority public affairs manager Leslie Irlbeck said. 
 
Plastic bags are not accepted in the “Curb It!” residential program, but many grocery stores have drums that accept them.

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