Athens ReThink Plastics announces jingle video contest winners

Judges were unanimous in their decision about three winning videos, created to sync with the "Say No to a Plastic Bag" jingle written by Athens ReThink Plastics member Milena Miller. The jingle aired on several radio stations in December and January, and a community member suggested hosting a video contest to extend the life of the music. All three winning entries were made by young, talented community members with real interest in the environment.

First place of $200 was awarded to Abigail Lim, an Athens resident who will be a freshman at Athens High School this fall. Lim painted colorful backdrops that lent positive interpretations of the text. A crocheted, animated honeybee flew across the frames with its message about the beauty of our world.

Second-place winners were sisters Scarlett and Stella Fried. Scarlett is a Media Arts student at Ohio University and Stella, a recent media graduate from Cincinnati. They won $100 for their shared portrayal of the use of other types of bags, rather than plastic. Filmed in various settings when buying or receiving goods in a bag, the video ended with the City of Athens sign on a freeway bridge.

Third-place winners were elementary students from Columbus, Marjorie and Samantha Lloyd. Their video included a singing sock puppet and a cat puppet playing a cat piano, while the other sister guided viewers away from plastic bags to those that are preferred. They were excited to win $50.

Athens ReThink Plastics is a group of seven local women whose mission is to educate the community about hazardous chemicals in plastic items, the enormity of the waste generated by our throw-away economy of mostly plastic bags and bottles, and the industry's irresponsibility in managing their products' waste. As most plastics are not recyclable, the burden for disposal often rests on the shoulders of the consumers.

Athens ReThink members wanted to find ways community members can reduce their uses of plastic, find alternate products that do not contain the deadly chemicals that are known to stay within our bodies and those of wildlife causing cancer and other debilitating diseases, and to help protect our environment for future generations. Winning videos can be viewed on the Athens ReThink Plastics Facebook site.