While our world continues its efforts to rely less on petroleum-based products, there's one particular product--non-bag plastic film-- that's not going away anytime soon. As much as we steer away from accepting plastic bags from the grocery store checkout or anywhere else, the fact is that non-bag plastic film is part of our everyday life.
So can it be recycled? Read on to find out... you may find your recycling bin getting fuller each week!
Recyclable "Non-Shopping" Bags
- Dry-cleaning Bags
- Bread Bags
- Tortilla Bags
- Produce Bags
- Newspaper Rain Cover Bags
Recyclable Plastic Film Packaging
- Paper Towels
- Bathroom Tissue
- Napkins
- Diapers
- Sanitary Products
Recyclable Packaging--Other Types
- Overwrap from Cases of Soda & Water
- Overwrap from "Multipacks" of Items (ex.: Three-Pack Facial Tissues)
- Outer Bag-Type Shipping Packaging & Inner Plastic Bags from Online Clothing Orders
- Clean & Dry Ziploc Bags
- Magazine Overwraps
- Overwraps for Weekly Circulars
- Little Plastic Bags for Extra Buttons on New Clothes
There are so many sources of this non-bag plastic film that sometimes it’s more useful to know what cannot go in there:
- No food residue. All materials must be clean and dry. Otherwise the bin will attract pests and as plastic bag recycling takes place almost exclusively at grocery stores, you can imagine what a problem that would be for the system.
- No black/dark film. The best example is bags from Virginia’s ABC stores. Grey, like from Kohl’s, is okay.
- Nothing rigid, brittle, or super-shiny. Examples of these materials include the safety seal around the outside of a medicine bottle; the inner bag from a box of cereal or crackers; what some people call “cellophane” (like the wrap on a candy cane); and, the zippered packaging on a set of bed sheets, which is generally PVC (an entirely different type of plastic that can ruin a batch of plastic film).
- No food wrap. Popular brands are Saran and Glad wraps. This material is incompatible with the recycling process due to its specific chemical composition. Also, it is quite often contaminated with food.
It’s amazing how much there is of non-bag plastic film when you start collecting it! So recycle it... today!