"Plastic Bags" by Recycle Facts | The Pilot: Southern Pines, NC

Plastic Bags

May 23, 2012

Recycle your plastic grocery bags in the recycle bins provided at all local grocery stores - NOT in your recycle bin at home.

Plastic bags clog up the material separation machinery at the recycling facility and contaminate the bundles of separated recycled materials.

Good idea! I keep my canvas grocery bag on a hook and stuff any plastic grocery bags in it. Then when I go to the store I just stop in the lobby and empty the plastic baggies into the big barrel they keep there.

Courseaire 12 months ago

Just what I want for my groceries - to put them someone else’s dirty plastic bag.

JohnANagy 12 months ago

We recycle the plastic bags, when we get them, for lunches and other things around the house.

dklauder 12 months ago

Courseaire - Plastic bags are not reused. They are recycled to make things like patio furniture.

dklauder 12 months ago

rudy2donline - Great idea to put your plastic bags in one of the canvas bags you take to the grocery store to carry your groceries. Anything you can do to make recycling more convenient will help make this new behavior a new habit.

Millie 12 months ago

In parts of the CA Bay Area plastic bags have been banned completely! Better buy a bunch of cloth bags or carry your groceries a few at a time to your car. Difficult to get used to and one has to wonder if it's really that big a deal to ban the use of plastic. Some stores offer paper bags for a fee which is resented by many folks. Shop and then pay to take it home? It's overkill in my opinion, akin to global warming.

dklauder 11 months, 3 weeks ago

Millie - It costs Pratt Inc., the recycling facility to which both Pinehurst and Aberdeen send their recycled materials, about $1,700/month to pull plastic bags from their bundles of separated recyclable materials before these can be sent to their customers. Are plastic bags the best use our oil? More than 1.6 billion gallons of oil are used each each year in the U.S. to make plastic bags.

clefevre 11 months, 3 weeks ago

Habits are hard to break. I have been trying hard to use the big canvas bags I have at any store where I purchase things. It has helped me to put them back in the car immediately after I empty them when I get home..at least I can go to the car when I forget to take them in. Some stores are giving a credit even if they do not charge for their bags.

getreal 11 months, 3 weeks ago

Wow! I didn't know this. Why didn't the recycle companies tell us this when the recycle bins are dropped off? I already knew not to include the plastic bottle tops from soda, but I never heard this. I will not put bags in the bin anymore. They really should hand out information about items that cause problems. How are we supposed to know these things?