2019 Results

The Plastic Bag Grab Challenge celebrates four years of taking action on plastic waste! From April 15-26 schools from across Canada reduced the amount of single-use plastic lost to disposal, encourage greater reuse, and collect plastic bags for recycling.

2019 Results

The 2019 Plastic Bag Grab challenge has been our most sucessful yet:

822 elementary and secondary schools from across Canada participated and 290,617 students from coast to coast became environmental champions.
1,710,230 plastic bags weighing 13.7 metric tonnes will be recycled into new products.

Through the years..

The Plastic Bag Grab Challenge has doubled in growth and we are excited to share that 2019 was the most engaging yet! Since start of the program in 2016, the amount of plastic bags collected reduces each year, while program participation continues to grow. This means that every participating school is making a difference by reducing how many plastic bags are used in communities across Canada.

Plastic Bag Grab Challenge results since 2016

2019 Winners

Congratulations to all the winning schools of the 4th Plastic Bag Grab challenge!

Plastic Bag Grab 2019 winners table

Community Engagement & Social Media Highlights

Sussex Elementary School, Sussex NB

Birchmount School, Moncton NB

Ban the Bag Delta (Seaquam Secondary School), Delta BC

"We ran a social media campaign (Ban the Bag Delta) and started a petition to get our municipality to ban plastic grocery bags. The petition got almost 500 signatures."

Can't Stop Recycling by Mountain Elementary School in Abbotsford BC

I’se The B’y by Bishop Feild School, St. John's NFLD

"We did a video written to the tune of I'se The B'ys as we talked about being proud of our province being the second in Canada to ban the bag. We shared a wealth of our week on social media. The kearning was extensive - I think we may have even roles changed some adults! The community really worked together. We also engaged in a litterless Lunch where kids even brought their own cutlery instead of taking plastic. We had presentations from Zero Waste Canada as well as the conservation corp, and had support from our St. John's city council"

Bessborough School, Moncton NB

Gladstone Elementary School, Gladstone MB

Part 1

Part 2

A Plastic Awareness Documentary, Lincoln M Alexander, Mississauga ON

Point Leamington Academy, Newfoundland & Labrador

Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador

Joseph Welsh Elementary, Red Deer, Alberta

Elder's Mills P.S., Woodbridge, Ontario

Music Video by GR Saunders Elementary, Stellarton , Nova Scotia

Westside Montessori Academy, Vancouver

Westside Montessori School Plastic Bag Grab

Mountain Elementary School, Abbotsford BC

Mountain Elementary School Plastic Bag Grab

Riverside School, Albert Bridge, Nova Scotia

Riverside School Nova Scotia Plastic Bag Grab challenge

Gros Morne Academy, Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland

"Through the challenge we tried to stress that refusing and reducing is the most important piece to the puzzle of stopping plastic waste. Classrooms engaged by showing videos, making posters and counting the bags. Then on our final day we created a collage of bags as in the image below. We chose to take the message further by promoting Litterless Lunches and reducing waste in the school breakfast program by replacing styrofoam dishes with reuseables, initiatives that will be continued. We have also made arrangements to begin recycling markers and pens."

Gros Morne Academy NFLD

Wilfrid Jury Public School, London, Ontario

"When collecting plastic bags ended on April 26th, we decided to create a giant artistic mural of a jellyfish in our school library. This allowed for the entire school of over 700 students to come visit and see what we had created and again allowed us to spread our positive message."

Wilfrid Jury Public School

Wilfrid Jury Public School, London, Ontario - Continued

"We learned that plastic straws cannot be recycled because they are too small and that some restaurants are creating a solution by taking on the initiate to limit or use paper straws instead. With this, as a gift for our students' hard work, we gave them each a metal straw since they learned that they can use one metal reusable straw instead of hundreds of plastic straws over their lifetime. "

Metal Straws