Plastic bags are manufactured, used, and thrown away by the thousands every day. It’s hard to think about landfills being packed to the brim with plastic bags, doomed to take up space on the planet forever. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to recycle all of these plastic bags instead? Turns out, learning how to recycle plastic bags is simple.
Fortunately for you, there are many ways to recycle plastic bags! Most of the plastic bags available in our massive inventory of packaging and shipping supplies are made out of #2 plastic. This is also known as high-density polyethylene, and it is the easiest plastic to recycle.
Some of our other products are made out of #4 plastic, also called low-density polyethylene. Both types of polyethylene are easy to recycle and can be taken to almost any recycling plant.
Before You Recycle
A recycling plant won’t just take any plastic bag, especially if you haven’t prepared it for recycling first. Here’s what you need to do:
-Make sure your plastic bag is labeled with a #2 or #4. This symbol certifies that the bag is made of polyethylene and can be properly recycled. Without this symbol, a recycling facility may not be able to identify the type of plastic, and therefore they cannot recycle it.
-Make sure you remove everything from the bag, including trash, crumbs, debris, stickers, and receipts. Your bag cannot be contaminated with any other element. It should also be clean.
-Collect as many plastic bags as you can to recycle all at once. When you bring in a lot, you have a chance to earn some cash back for your recycling donation.
When your bags are ready to be recycled, you can take it to any local recycling plant. In some cases, you might be able to place the bags in your residential recycling bin. Be cautious of this, though, because not all sizes of clear polyethylene bags can be processed by the same facility, and they might not accept it from the bin.
How the Recycling Process Works
Every material goes through a different recycling process. When recycling your plastic bags, a recycling facility will usually break the bags up into pellets. These small and hard plastic pellets are then re-shaped into something new. In most cases, they are made to make more plastic bags.
That is the beauty of recycling! Instead of throwing plastic bags into the garbage and putting toxic substances into the earth, you can break the bags down so they can be made into brand-new bags.
Most plastics are not biodegradable. But recycling is an eco-friendly method that repurposes materials that would otherwise contribute to pollution and garbage buildup.
Plastic Bags: The Eco-Friendly Choice
Did you know that plastic bags are far better for the environment than paper? Although paper is a more natural material, the process of creating bags uses more than two times the amount of energy and over four times the amount of water to produce them as the process that makes plastic bags.
Clear polyethylene bags are much easier to dispose of than you may think. It’s good that you want to make the conscious choice and recycle, but make sure you are sending your bags to the right recycling facility; otherwise, they’ll just end up in a landfill.
Find a Recycling Center Near You!
Not every curbside recycling program or residential bin will allow you to dispose of all types of plastic bags. It might be beneficial to find the best plastic recycling facility near you and make it the solution for your old and unwanted bags.
Bags can be recycled to make new bags or other products that will provide further benefits to your community. Not to mention, you are helping the planet out in the process. Visit our selection of recyclable plastic bags and enjoy your next shopping trip guilt-free!
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