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The Go Greener Eliminate Plastic Bags Committee is part of the City of West Lafayette Go Greener Commission initiative to increase awareness of environmental issues related to events in the area.



Day without Plastic Bags is Go Greener  Green Event Certified!
Click here to visit the Go Greener Events site.


Eliminate Plastic Waste by Reducing and Reusing!
Why Make Your Own? It is an easy way to eliminate plastic packaging. By making your
own, you reuse materials and use fewer resources and energy.

  • How to Make Your Own Sports Drink (and avoid plastic bottles): Mix 7 oz. of frozen concentrated orange juice with 1 quart of water and a pinch of salt (1g). Mix all the ingredients together and keep chilled. Of course, put the mixture in a reusable water bottle and enjoy exercising.
 Eliminate Bag Monsters!
  • How to Make Your Own Spreadable Butter:
    When you look in your plastics recycling bin, are there lots of plastic margarine containers? You can completely eliminate using them by making your own spreadable butter. Itʼs easy. There are several brands in the dairy aisle that are similar to the recipe that I use but they come in a plastic tub. Make your own and put it in a refrigerator container to avoid using more plastic. You use less of it (therefore, less calories) than a stick of margarine or butter because it is so easy to spread. It is a healthier product for you because it is not full of additives. If you love the taste of butter, this still tastes like butter but you are using only half the usual amount of real butter. I got this recipe from a vegetarian cookbook called “Laurelʼs Kitchen” by Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, and Bronwen Godfrey. Here it is:
    • 1 C. safflower , soy, or corn oil (I use olive oil and it works great.)
    • 1 C. butter (2 sticks)
    • 2 T. water
    • 2 T. dried skim milk
    • ¼ t. lecithin
    • ½ t. salt
    Let the butter soften so that it can be easily blended. Add all the ingredients to a
    blender and blend until uniformly smooth. Pour into glass refrigerator dishes and keep
    in the refrigerator. The mixture will solidify when cooled but is still easy to spread. The
    only 2 ingredients that you must have are the oil and the butter. The other ingredients
    just help it stay solid. Lecithin is a fat emulsifier so it helps you digest fat.
    Try it! Itʼs easy and itʼs healthier for you.
  • Most yogurt comes in single serve plastic containers. Here's how to make your own yogurt:
    1. Clean all your dishes really well; the recipe says to sterilize them. I usually do not go that far.
    2. Heat 4 cups of milk (even if it is pasteurized) in a double boiler stirring with a metal spoon. If you like your yogurt thick, add ¼ cup nonfat powdered dry milk now. I recommend this. Heat the milk to 180º to 200º for 10 minutes, stirring. Do not let it boil.
    3. Let your 3 tablespoons of plain starter yogurt sit out to warm up to room temperature.
    4. Cool your heated milk to 110º to 112º by putting it in the refrigerator or in an ice bath. This takes about 15 minutes.
    5. Remove 1 cup of milk and stir the 3 T. of starter yogurt into the milk. Now stir that into the rest of your milk. Put the inoculated milk into an oven proof dish and cover with a lid. You are now ready to incubate your culture so that the bacteria can get busy changing milk into yogurt. You can do this in an 170º oven or you can do this in a slow cooker or you can do this on a heating pad set on medium. Cover the dish with a terry cloth towel. I favor this method. All of these methods will take 5 – 7 hours. The yogurt is done when it is set and slightly firm. It will firm up some more as it cools.
    6. Refrigerate it now. You can add your favorite flavor or eat it plain. If you like it thicker, like the store-bought kind, add 1 t. unflavored gelatin before you heat the milk and dissolve it well (like making Jello). I have tried this method and it makes great yogurt. I have even tried the new probiotics like Activia and it also worked. Most of those come in single serving plastic containers, in fact, I have not seen store-bought yogurt in anything but plastic. Try this recipe. Itʼs so easy, plus, it is cheaper, no high fructose corn syrup, no preservatives, and NO PLASTIC

(c) Anya, West Lafayette Go Greener Commission , 2009