The Co-op Bookstore, located on Douglass campus, is going green this semester, with a brand new initiative to encourage students to ditch the plastic bags in an effort to keep the environment clean.
Co-op Director Edward Desch said the idea for the initiative called, "Go Co-op Green," came to light this past summer when a customer of the bookstore saw a similar bag program at a trade show. He suggested the idea to Desch, who was also approached by a sales representative from National Book Store, Inc. who had seen the success of New York University's bag program.
"We went to NYU to check it out and we figured it was a good idea," Desch said.
While NYU's program is on a grander scale, the co-op wanted to emulate some of its basic aspects, such as making a donation to a charitable institution for every customer who denies a plastic bag, he said.
Ever since Labor Day weekend, co-op employees have been encouraging customers to not use plastic bags, Desch said. If customers refuse bags, an employee will hand them a wooden nickel representing a five-cent donation, he said.
Customers may then place the wooden coins in the bin of a nonprofit organization of their choice, located at the front of the store.
The bins represent four non-profit organizations: Rutgers Gardens, Rutgers Institute for Marine & Coastal Sciences, New Jersey Agricultural Experimental Station and the World Wildlife Fund, which Desch said is getting the most donations.
The store is also selling canvas bags, which provide a more eco-friendly option for transporting books. For every customer who purchases a bag, the bookstore will donate $1 to an organization of choice, said Debra Hinlicky, Co-op accounting manager.
"There was a lot of controversy involving the organizations," Desch said. "[When choosing], the goal wasn't to be politically active. The goal was to be environmentally active."
The program aims to donate $3,000 to these four organizations by the end of the school year, Hinlicky said. So far, around $300 has been donated and over 4,000 plastic bags have been saved, she said, adding that she thinks the fundraiser's goal is high.
"I think $3,000 is a little too steep. $1,000 might be better," she said.
Although the College Booksellers division of Barnes and Noble will take over the University Bookstore in Ferren Mall, the independently owned Co-op will continue to be independently run.
"Our bookstore is often forgotten about and it is hard to remind all our customers all the special offers and programs we do," Hinlicky said. "We try to work towards student needs."
Despite the slow word of mouth, there has been a lot of positive feedback towards the "Go Co-Op Green" program.
Roberta De Oleo, a junior in the School of Arts Sciences, said he heard about the program through a friend.
"It's a good idea to make something green so effortless for people," he said.
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