In Mike Nichols’ Oscar-winning 1967 film The Graduate, young Benjamin Braddock was given one word of advice regarding his business future: “Plastics!”.
Now, nearly sixty years later, that advice has come back to haunt us all. The world is awash in plastic waste. Microplastic particles pollute our food, our water, even our blood. It is estimated that ten million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean every year. And the problem is getting worse. Plastic production is expected to triple by 2060, according to the Global Plastics Outlook Database.
While we may feel we’re doing our part by putting plastics in our recycling bins, the sad truth is that only about ten per cent ever gets recycled. While worldwide action is needed to mitigate the crisis, Saratoga Rotarians Nancy Shih and Phil Young decided to act locally.
In April of 2025, the two kick-started a collection drive with the goal of collecting one thousand pounds of plastic waste over one year. By January, 2026, they announced that their lofty goal had been met in less than nine months.
“We were overwhelmed by the support we received,” said Young. “From the very first day, our Rotary Club members were enthusiastically stuffing our collection boxes to the brim”.
Rather than ending up in a landfill or worse, the plastic will be converted into durable outdoor decking and furniture by NextTrex, which will build a bench which the Rotary club will donate to the citizens of Saratoga. The bench, complete with plaque explaining the bench’s origin, will be installed near the Saratoga Community Center.
But now that the goal has been met, the collection drive will continue, according to Young. “Now we’re helping the Southwest Y collect one-thousand pounds so that they can get their own bench.”
“I’ve been interested in doing an environment-related project at a local level, and have not seen any relevant programs at our club,” Shih said. “I learned that the Los Altos Rotary Club had started a recycling drive. I thought we could do the same at our club.”
Shih teamed up with Young when she learned of their common interest. “The current political climate compelled me to direct my energy in some positive direction,” Young explained.
The idea is simple: Collect plastics from your home or office, bring them to the weekly Rotary meeting, and deposit them in a special bin. From there, club members will deliver the bags to their local Safeway Store, where they will then be forwarded to NextTrex.
However, it’s important to learn the types of plastic that are acceptable for the program: Only low-density polyethylene (type 4). While that’s only one of many types of plastics, you’re likely to find plenty of it in your home:
- Grocery bags
- Ziploc bags
- Produce bags
- Case overwrap
- Bread bags
- Newspaper sleeves
- Dry cleaning sleeves
- Bubble wrap
- Cereal box liners
Here’s the easiest test: Is it slightly stretchable? Then means it’s probably type 4. Does it make a crinkly/crunchy sound in your hand? Then it’s not! No frozen food bags, candy bar wrappers, chip bags, pet food bags, or salad mix bags.
You don’t have to be a Rotarian to participate. Just bring your collected plastics to the weekly Saratoga Rotary meeting (12:15-1:30pm) at the Saratoga Community Center, or directly to collection bins at The Southwest Y, Safeway and Sprouts supermarkets.
Beyond that, Shih and Young urge us Rotarians to avoid buying plastics whenever possible, re-use as many times as possible, and dispose of them properly when they can no longer be re-used. And, we should advocate for laws to reduce our consumption of plastics.
In addition to the Los Altos Rotary Club, which has diverted nearly a ton of plastics from landfills, many other Rotary clubs have taken up the challenge. Paulsbo, WA Rotarians have so far collected over 44,000 pounds of the stuff!
A cynic may say that it’s still a drop in the bucket. But when enough Rotarians spread the word and start acting locally, drops become streams, and streams become floods.
Want to participate? Contact Nancy Shih (nancyshih@me.com) or Phil Young (pyoung@dbylaw.com).