Plastic bags and food wrappers – what in the world could they have to do with the next Daytona 500 winner?
Well, if you watched Denny Hamlin win the Sprint Unlimited race at Daytona International Speedway last weekend, you might remember what happened to a guy named Brad Keselowski. Poor Brad. You see, Brad was leading the field early in the race when a plastic bag whipped out of the grandstands and onto the racetrack clogging Brad’s duct work. With no air flowing to his motor, Brad began to overheat and had to bring his race car into the pits. Brad rallied back to a distant 9th place finish after being involved in other on track incidents throughout the night.
And what about all those mysterious debris cautions we saw last season? Don’t even get me started! Three debris cautions were called in the final laps of the California Speedway race last spring. It was an issue again during the Chase Championship race in Homestead which closed out the 2015 season. NASCAR has been accused by fans and race teams alike of using harmless debris like paper products, food wrappers or plastic bags that blow onto the track as a way to tighten up the field to create better racing or even to give preference to certain drivers. Whether NASCAR debris cautions are based on fact or fiction, there’s no question that litter and trash are hanging out where you live, work or play.
The start of race season is followed closely by the start of the Great American Cleanup. The Great American Cleanup is the largest grassroots community involvement program in the United States. From March through June of each year, more than 4 million volunteers work together to transform communities by picking up litter and sprucing up public spaces. It’s the perfect opportunity for you to get involved to prevent trash and litter from impacting your community. You can find a list of the cleanup events happening in Hampton Roads on askHRgreen.org and check back often as new events are added.
I’ll be tuned in on Sunday to see if this year’s Daytona 500 winner has to overcome the “Battle of the Bag” but I also want to leave you with some simple tips to make your plastic bag use and little greener. First, remember you can REFUSE a plastic bag when you buy something small and don’t really need one. Also, remember to bring REUSABLE bags when you hit the grocery store and RECYCLE plastic bags you do use by returning them to your local grocery store. But most of all, just remember that YOU can make a difference in your community.
So….Boogity, Boogity, Boogity…..let’s go racing!