Plastic Bag Recycling
If you think all plastic is recyclable or all things with a triangle and number are recyclable, think again. Read on to learn about plastic bag recycling and how to do it correctly!
On this path of sustainable living, it feels as though I’m constantly adding things to do. There is so much to learn and it takes time to really incorporate it all into your life. It’s not as though I’m always looking for behaviors to change; they just come my way now. So I have to pick and choose what we’re ready to tackle and when.
A few months ago (or whenever spring was this year!), we tried a meal delivery subscription service for a week. I said ok to it all only because it advertised that everything was recyclable. Great!
So the food arrived and I had A TON of plastic bags, but something told me that I couldn’t just throw it in the curbside recycling.
Sacramento has an app to help you decide between the trash or recycling bin. It isn’t perfect, but it is a help. So when these bags showed up, I’d used the app enough to question how “recyclable” they truly were.
I went to the almighty Google and searched “plastic bag recycling.” And so it all began on how we now recycle plastic bags properly, do the store drop off, and have a growing realization and distaste for just how many plastic bags are in our life.
It has gotten easier now that more companies are partnership with how2recycle to include the store drop off label on packaging, so it’s a clear answer if something can be recycled through these program.
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Plastic Bag Recycling
Our biggest source of trash and recycling is food packaging – hands down. If we just never ate, we’d be fine! Since we keep getting hungry, however, we need to be more proactive.
What can’t be recycled curbside?
Most curbside recycling programs don’t accept soft-sided plastics. This includes plastic mailers, plastic shopping bags, ziploc bags, cling film (saran wrap), plastic air pouches, plastic zippered pouches.
Even my beloved compostable trash bags and ziplocs are a no-go in the recycle bin!
It’s best to check with your local waste management and see if they take it or not. You might just be lucky enough to live somewhere that accepts it all!
And when you’re ready, check out these plastic wrap replacements.
Do I have to do anything to the bags?
Yep. Just like with ALL recycling, you have to clean the items (that had food) and remove any labels and stickers.
Some stickers and labels just peel off, but I find most need to be cut out. It’s a simple process and I like to do it when I first get the item, so everything goes into our bag or bags ready to be recycled.
As for food containers, just a quick rinse with water OR soap & water will do the trick. And then let it air dry before putting it away with your other bags to recycle.
If you have a number of bags, you can do a shallow soapy bath in your sink for them all. I’ve also heard about just adding them to the top rack of your next dishwasher load, but I haven’t tried this.
I just want to reiterate here that all recycling needs to be cleaned of food scraps – not just the films and wraps. Food in a recycling bin can ruin the whole lot with rot, mold, and germs!
Are Plastic Bags Recyclable?
In short, no. Plastic bags are generally NOT accepted in curbside recycling. They need to be dropped off at stores who collect plastic bags for recycling…
How to Recycle Bubble Wrap
If you don’t have a good way to reuse it, then bubble wrap is recyclable in this same plastic bag recycling programs. It hurts my soul to say to say this, but to save room, you could flatten the bubbles!
A side note here, if you aren’t in a local Buy Nothing group, I encourage you to join and feel free to list any of these packing materials there. There always seems to be somebody moving or reorganizing, giving this single-use plastic more life.
Can Ziploc Bags be Recycled?
Clean ziploc bags can be recycled in the plastic bag drop off recycling.
Clean & Dry
Ziploc bags must be clean and dry to recycle them. If they have any gooeyness or wetness, try to clean them. Otherwise they’re trash.
Can Chip Bags be Recycled?
No. Chip bags are usually made of a few kinds of materials so cannot be recycled – even in the plastic bag drop off recycling. Sadly these are just trash.
Can You Recycle Plastic Wrap?
Yes, you can recycle clean and dry plastic wrap and film packaging (basically packaging plastic wrap). It’s included in the film recycling!
If it’s been used with food, however, do take note that it must be clean and dry. And if you’re looking to cut back on plastic film in your kitchen, try one of these plastic wrap replacements.
Where can I Dispose of Plastic Bags?
Many stores around the US take these soft plastic wraps and bags. You can do a quick search here to check for local places. It’s important to note that not all places that accept the bags are listed.
Common drop off locations:
- Target stores
- Sprout stores
- Nugget Markets (Northern California)
Lessons from Plastic Bag Recycling
So. As a small family of 2+ and given that we’re trying to be mindful of single-use plastics, learning about proper plastic bag recycling has been interesting and a bit overwhelming.
Not only is getting the plastics collected and ready to recycle more work, but we have quite a bit of plastic, which is depressing. I was able to smash all our plastics into a single plastic shopping bag. BUT IT’S SO MUCH and this is only for one month!! That means we have about 12 of these bags per year – just our little house!
We have so far to go to limit our consumption of single-use plastics, but being able to visualize exactly how much we consume has been so helpful.
And now we can set goals to have fewer shipping bags, fewer zippered bags, and no more cling film! These kitchen swaps are helping more than ever.
