Recycling Plastic Grocery Bags Facts

This includes bags for groceries bread food storage even the sealable ones and dry cleaning plus shipping pillows and wraps for beverage cases and more.

Recycling plastic grocery bags facts.

Thank you for recycling your plastic bags and wraps. While overall the amount of recycled plastics is relatively small 3 0 million tons for a 8 4 percent recycling rate in 2017 the recycling of some specific types of plastic containers is more significant. Only 5 to 3 of all plastic bags are recycled worldwide. Plastic bags wraps typically do not get recycled in curbside bins.

They must be returned to participating drop off locations such as retail stores for recycling. Around 4 million tons of plastic bags sacks and wraps were produced in 2008 worldwide 90 were discarded. Up to 80 percent of ocean plastic pollution enters the ocean from land. At least 267 different species have been affected by plastic pollution in the ocean.

The numbers are better in the united states where epa estimates around 12 of plastic bags are recycled. The rest end up in landfills or as litter. In fact less than 3 of plastic bags are recycled worldwide. Recyclable affordable and convenient plastic bags are 100 recyclable reusable made from natural gas not oil and a sustainable choice for consumers communities and businesses.

Grocery and retail stores. According to waste management only 1 percent of plastic bags are returned for recycling. What do bubble wrap plastic overwrap around paper towels cereal box liners and bread bags all have in common. 267 different species of animals have been affected by marine debris.

Plastic bags like those used for bread newspapers and as cereal box liners as well as sandwich bags dry cleaning bags and grocery bags create similar problems for recycling machinery as thin. They actually go through a process called photodegradation breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic particles that contaminate both soil and water and end up entering the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them. Once discarded plastic bags will remain in the environment for 1 000 years before they decompose. And your curbside recycling bin typically isn t one of them.

Instead plastic bags and wraps can be taken to recycling bins in front of more than 20 000 u s. In fact the list doesn t end there. The recycling rate of pet bottles and jars was 29 1 percent in 2017 and the rate for hdpe natural bottles was 31 2 percent in 2017. That means that the average family only recycles 15 bags a year.

Plastic bags are not biodegradable. The facts about plastic bags. We know this isn t specifically about plastic bags but 90 of marine debris is one kind of plastic or another.