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Plastic Bags Don’t Go in the Recycling Bin. What Should You Do Instead?
Experts say plastic grocery bags should stay out of curbside bins because they can clog machinery, while store drop-off programs can recycle them.
- Plastic grocery bags jammed in curbside recycling equipment create significant processing problems. Delaware-based chemical engineering expert Erha Andini warns that placing bags in household bins—a practice called "wishcycling"—damages recycling machinery and contaminates other materials.
- Over 3 million tons of plastic bags, sacks, and wraps ended up in United States landfills in 2018, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. These materials take centuries to degrade and release harmful microplastics into the environment.
- Instead of household bins, consumers should use designated drop-off locations at grocery stores. Stephanie Hicks, materials and recycling manager at Trex, notes that bins accept soft plastics labeled two or four, which get reprocessed into furniture and other products.
- Reducing reliance on plastic films or reusing bags for multiple grocery runs extends their lifecycle before disposal. Meg Sobkowicz, plastics engineering expert at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, suggests small swaps like grabbing individual apples instead of pre-wrapped bunches.
- Organizations like NOVA Creative Reuse Center in Virginia and Precious Plastic NYC offer alternative disposal methods as global plastic treaty negotiations stall in recent years. Experts emphasize that small changes remain valuable despite the difficulty of total plastic elimination.
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20 Articles
20 Articles
Associated Press News+18 Reposted by 18 other sources
Plastic bags don't go in the recycling bin. What should you do instead?
You may have heard that recycling plastic grocery bags can jam up machinery, but what might not be as well known is that there are other ways to get rid of the stuff.
·United States
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Total News Sources20
Leaning Left9Leaning Right4Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution47% Left
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources lean Left
47% Left
L 47%
C 32%
R 21%
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