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One item that your curbside recycling most likely does not accept are plastic bags. These tend to gum up the machinery at recycling centers so they are not allowed. However, there are many places that now accept bags to take to a special facility for recycling. Some places also accept other thin plastics like inflated package protectors, some shipping bags, and other thin films that encase products that you buy (look for the recycling symbol that says “Store drop-off”).
Today’s challenge: Find out where you can recycle plastic bags and other thin film plastics. A lot of grocery stores participate in these programs. Find a place that is convenient for you. This may take a little bit of research and asking around or it may be as simple as taking a look at the entrance of your grocery store this week. You can also enter your zip code at https://bagandfilmrecycling.org/ to find a location near you, but it is not all inclusive. Share with the group the location that you found.
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I had no idea I could recycle plastic films and other thin plastics from food and household packaging!!! I am going to try to set up a separate container to recycle these and take them to Pick n Save, which seems to be closest one to me that accepts these “wraps.”
Yes! I didn’t know until recently either. It was a game changer for me because when I started collecting the bags/film I realized how much plastic is actually out there and was able to target some areas to scale back (I’m talking to you Amazon packages)