

If they do, great! If they don’t, find a drop-off recycling location near you. How to Recycle Plastic Bagsįirst check to see if your local curbside recycling program accepts plastic bags in the first place. Luckily, there are other ways you can recycle plastic bags.

When they’re not recycled properly and wind up in a landfill, they can take up to 1,000 years to degrade. This can damage the machines and slow the entire recycling process. Plastic bags have a tendency to get snagged or tangled in the conveyor belts or wheels of the machinery. The processing equipment at these facilities is made to separate materials like rigid glass, cans, or rigid plastics. Not only that, but most recycling facilities aren’t equipped to recycle them. Made of either high-density polyethylene or low-density polyethylene, the lightweight form of these bags makes them easily blown away to places they shouldn’t be. Are Plastic Bags Recyclable?Īs nice as it would be to throw your plastic bags in the recycling bin at home, plastic bags and other similar soft plastics (such as zipper food storage bags or produce bags) aren’t easy to recycle. And they are! But… not in the way you would think. Did you know that the average American family takes home nearly 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year? And only one percent of plastic bags are recycled? With how common those plastic bags are, you would think they would be recyclable by now.
