I have been fortunate to live in a community that is on the forefront of the recycling scene. And, although our community program is not the BEST in the country, it is pretty good and it has been around for years. Our family makes a consistent effort to bring home plastic bottles and cans that we cannot recycle while about town or that we find on trails or the side of the road. I’ve been known to load my backpack up with grimy cans and I even have a glass bottle rattling around in the bottom of the jog stroller that I picked up on a run. In fact, our household is so thorough at recycling (and composting) that we sometimes take more than a week to fill an entire medium sized kitchen trash bag. Now wait – before you get upset with me for “bragging” please know that I am sharing this information with you not to be smug and show off my recycling prowess, but rather to highlight my recycling failings.

Over the years I’ve picked up the attitude that it is a CRIME to let a single aluminum can enter the waste stream. Contrast this with the fact that while I often reuse plastic bags, I thoughtlessly toss them in the trash when they have met the end of their useful life. Somehow this mindless action has slipped past my conscious for years. I realized this little indiscretion just a few weeks ago and it let loose a firestorm. Now I find myself second guessing EVERYTHING that goes in my trash can. Questioning all my trash is a good thing, although hopefully it will not result in me becoming an eccentric trash pack rat. At this point, I certainly don’t intend to save all of our trash and I have no plans to make an interesting trash-art installation in our basement.

Where is this leading? Plastic shopping bags are a high profile subject these days, and I thought that it would be helpful to expand on this topic and cover other types of plastic-bag-like material that can (and can’t) be recycled. To reduce the amount of plastic bag material sneaking its way into your personal trash stream, I recommend the following:

1. REDUCE – Do your best to not acquire new plastic bags: use cloth grocery and produce bags; make use of bulk containers for storage; buy heads of lettuce & spinach instead of pre-packaged greens (not only is it cheaper, but the plastic for the prepackaged stuff can’t be recycled); buy cereals, grains and rice in bulk at your local grocery store using your already existing bags (that can’t be recycled); and, just keep your eye out for plastic bag like materials that are not a #2 or a #4.

2. REUSE – Reuse bags for as long as you reasonably can. If you line a dry trash bin with a bag, consolidate garbage on trash day and reuse the same bag in your can. Personally, I am not a fan of using plastic bags for dog waste because they cannot then be recycled, but if you must do so it is better than leaving the dog waste behind! Reuse produce bags, zip-lock bags and such for as long as you can.

3. RECYCLE – Once your plastic bags have lived a good life, please recycle them! And, do your best to only acquire #2 & #4 plastic bags, because at this time, these are generally the only kinds of plastic that are recycled. Read on for details about what kinds of plastic baggies you can recycle.

Plastic Bags that CAN be recycled:

· DO recycle Grocery bags

· DO recycle Retail bags (hard plastic and string handles removed)

· DO recycle Paper towel and toilet paper plastic wrap

· DO recycle Plastic newspaper bags

· DO recycle Plastic dry cleaning bags

· DO recycle All clean, clear bags labeled with a #2 or #4 (explained below)

Common #2 Plastics (via plasticbagrecycling.org): unpigmented films that have some opacity, crinkle to the touch, low stretch, can tear easily, high strength.

• Most grocery bags
• T-shirt bag
• Bags with sealed air for packaging (e.g., air cushion)

Common #4 Plastics (via plasticbagrecycling.org): unpigmented films have moderate clarity, moderate or poor stretch and strength characteristics and may be slightly tacky to touch.

• Thicker newspaper bags, bread bags and bubble wrap
• Thin clear newspaper bags and dry cleaning bags/film
• Plastic packaging/wrap for paper towels, toilet paper, new mattresses, pillows, etc.

Plastic bags and similar plastics (#2 & #4) can often be recycled at your local grocery store. If not there, then check out your local recycling drop off center. A few communities accept plastic bags in their curbside programs, but most do not. If you are unsure where you can recycle plastic bags locally follow this link.

Plastics “bags” that CANNOT at this time be recycled (avoid using or purchasing):

· NO food or cling wrap

· NO prepackaged food bags (e.g. frozen food bags and prewashed salad bags)

· NO film that has been painted or has excessive glue

· NO other bags or films

· NO bio-based or compostable plastic bags (these should be COMPOSTED)

It is VERY important not to include the above contaminants with your regular recyclables, because these items could jeopardize recycling programs. It costs money to remove contaminants and sometimes it is easier (cheaper) for a recycler to simply toss contaminated materials instead of sorting them!!!!

Resources:

The World’s Shortest Comprehensive Recycling Guide

Plastic types and recycling at the American Chemistry Council

Recycling electronics at Staples

Plastic Recycling at Plastic Bag Recyling

Recycling around the World at the BBC

Easter Basket from Recycled Plastic

Some of my best friends are plastic bags at Fake Plastic Fish

If you only follow one of these links, it should be to Fake Plastic Fish. I just spent a good chunk of time perusing her site and it is very inspiring with lots of good ideas and a nice dose of humor.