A Conversation with Molly Lavecchia from The Orange Bag Project.
This month we sat down with resident Molly Lavecchia to learn more about how her Orange Bag Project is keeping York’s roads and public spaces free from trash.
Born and raised in York, Molly’s deep affection for her hometown and the outdoors has inspired her community involvement. In addition to starting The Orange Bag Project, Molly led the Southern Maine Forest Playgroup, an organization focused on connecting people with nature. A private gardener for over 16 years, Molly is now raising her son here in York and wants to teach him how taking a positive, action-based approach can make a difference.
“Most people want to do something but don’t think they have enough time to participate in community efforts, join organizations, or volunteer. I started The Orange Bag Project to give York residents a quick and simple way to make a difference.”
The Orange Bag Project helps beautify York by providing free trash bags, gloves, and collection service to make it easy for residents to pick up trash in their neighborhoods.
“The idea came to me while biking to school with my son. We noticed trash by the side of the road and said we’d bring a trash bag next time to pick it up.”
Seeing the opportunity to enlist others to do the same, Lavecchia asked her sister Amy Fullerton to help launch the project. Since then, the Orange Bag project has helped support community events including a Trash-a-Thon at Coastal Ridge Elementary School which enlisted parents and students to collect trash around York in celebration of Earth Day. The event concluded with a “green party” where people dropped off what they had collected and enjoyed a celebration including food, games, and fun Earth Day-inspired activities.
“The Trash-a-Thon event had an amazing impact on our school this year. It created an exceptional hands-on experience for our students to learn about Earth Day and their ability to make a difference right here in our community.” Sean Murphy, Principal, Coastal Ridge Elementary School.
The Orange Bag Project has also hosted Community and Earth Day Cleanups for the public where they estimate to have collected nearly 200 bags of trash (and counting).
How Does it Work?
- Pick up a free trash bag and gloves at the York Town Hall Clerk’s Office, York Public Library Lobby, Rick’s BlueBird Cafe, Ocean Fire Pottery, or Flood Tide Gallery.
- Fill the bag with trash that you find on the side of the road or in other public areas around town
- Either put it out for weekly trash pick up or take a picture and post it to their Facebook or Instagram pages including the location and they will come pick it up for you.
It’s that simple!
“It’s a little thing people can do because every piece of trash counts.” Molly LaVecchia
To find out more about The Orange Bag Project, visit their Facebook. For other helpful recycling information, visit Recycle Coach.
