Why do all of my plastic grocery bags have .....?

Question

plastic code 2 with a recycle symbol around it, if they aren't recyclable, and everyone is trying to get them banned?

ALASPADA, i understand about how laziness of people effects many things in our environment, and oppose their laziness, but we can't go around promoting movements to ban things just because people are too lazy to deal with them properly. It only makes the entire philosophy of promoting any environmental concern look bad.

Michael N, great link! but all plastic bags can be recycled. it just depends on if a person's local recycling center is equipped to handle the job.
better to promote a motion for cities to handle the job, rather than a movement to ban the bags.

excellent point Adlai44, thanks for pointing out something everyone can do to help our environment, that isn't hard, time consuming, or expensive at all!

John Galt, i get over 300 spam emails a day. chances are, any email someone sends would only be a futile attempt to contact me, unless their email is on my friend's list, but thanks for your little rant!

zabadass, i have experienced that as well, when i lived on that side of the country.
Pretty good sign that individuals need to get involved with their local council meetings, write their govoner more often, doesn't it?

Answer 1

ALL plastic products are recyclable. That's one of the reasons the triangle with a number in the center is found on almost every plastic product. That number tells what type of plastic it is. However, one common misconception is that these plastics must be separated for proper recycling and cannot be mixed together. Todays technology allows the mixing of all plastics in some cases for making specific products from that mix. To do that the plastics (even the Saran wraps)are shredded and ground up into small flakes. Then they are washed, rinsed, and dried, and added to a small amount of low-temperature material like polyethylene (used as a carrier). Thi smaterial is then placed in an extruder and heated to a tmeperature high enough to melt most of the plastic but low enough to keep it from degrading. The resultant blend is then extruded into shapes and used in many cases as a wood lumber replacement. One of my clients has successfully used this material in the making of railroad ties. They are cheaper than wood, 10 times longer lasting, more resilient, chemically resistant, and do not require toxic copper sulphate or creosote coatings. This is a great example of how all plastics can be recycled.

Answer 2

Plastic bags are absolutely recyclable! Most grocery stores that use the bags have bins in front of the store where you can bring them back for recycling (there are also bins for foam egg cartons). The reason people want them banned is because most people in this country do not recycle. My neighborhood picks up 1, 2, and 3 plastics from bins right next to our trash that are provided by the city, and people still don't recycle around here! My city is one of the few in my area that offers curbside recycling pickup. At least paper bags are biodegradable, so laziness with those bags will not contribute as much waste as laziness with plastic.

Answer 3

Some supermarkets take back plastic bags to recycle, but they usually just store them and do nothing with them. I live in NY, and here plastic bags get blown in to the water and eventually make it to the Atlantic Ocean. Floating around, they look like jellyfish to the animals. When the animals try to eat them (thinking they are jellyfish), they choke on the bags. Check out this link to the Worldwatch Institute for more info.

Personally, I try not to use plastic too much, because even though some forms of it is recycleable, it's still gonna be kicking around this planet in some form or another for a couple million years or so. I keep reusable bags in my car and use those for my groceries. I purchased mine online; check out the other link if you want to get some.

Answer 4

Most communities will recycle #2 plastics.

Something to keep in mind: if you shop with a reusable canvas bag you will be helping the Earth in a major way. Plastic bags have to be produced which uses petrol and water, have to be transported to the store, which requires the carbon produced by the trucks and then are either left to sit in a landfill for hundreds of years, or recycled (by far the better option, but still requires more energy than reusing a canvas bag). Plus, many stores will give you $.03-$.05 cents off your total per reusable bag you use as an extra incentive :)

Answer 5

Some plastic bags can be recycled !

http://www.plasticbagrecycling.org/00.0/

Instructions
Difficulty: Easy
Steps
1Step OneFind out if your local curbside recycling program will accept plastic grocery bags.
2Step TwoDrop off plastic grocery bags Type 2 and Type 4 at your local grocery store, if you cannot recycle them through your curbside program. Most grocery stores will accept plastic bags and have recycling bins inside the store.
3Step ThreeExclude any plastic bags that are dark in color or bags that have handles or drawstrings. Plastic food packaging and plastic food wrap (Saran wrap) are also non-recyclable.
4Step FourClean and dry bags thoroughly before recycling, making sure they are empty of any debris. This is important, since foreign objects will contaminate the plastic as it is being recycled.
5Step FiveCheck with your county department of public works to find out about local curbside recycling programs and community drop-off centers, or look under "Recycling" in the Yellow Pages.
Tips & Warnings
The type of plastic the bag is made from should be printed somewhere on the bag.
Often plastic bags that are used for bread and other products are made from Type 2 and Type 4 plastic, but are not marked. They can usually be recycled with plastic grocery store bags unless they have the numeral 7 on them, which means they are definitely not recyclable.

http://www.ehow.com/how_10885_recycle-plastic-grocery.html

Answer 6

The codes let the recycling companies know what kind of plastic the bags are. Unfortunally, most bags are not recycled, which is why there is a move to ban them in favor of paperbags that can be recycled or allowed to biodegrade

Answer 7

My local Stop and Shop collects bags to recycle. People often don't know or bother to recycle these bags. Because of the litter they produce and the damage on the environment, people are trying to promote biodegradable bags as opposed to the traditional plastic ones.

Answer 8

In the greater Houston area, most Kroger Grocery stores have a recycle bin for used plastic bags. We have 4 large manufacturers of plastic bags in this area, so I'm sure we should have a recycle place. At present, Kroger is the only place I know of. Call your local grocery store and ask if they offer this service.

Answer 9

Just because something CAN be recycled doesn't mean it WILL be recycled. I've yet to find a recycling center that will accept plastic bags. Some stores will knock 5 cents off your bill for each bag you reuse though.
I think either Wild Oats or Whole Foods will donate 5 cents to charity for each bag you reuse.

Answer 10

A lot of places have bins that are used to collect old shopping bags so they can be recycled. The recycling facilities where I live won't collect them though, making it so people have to remember to take the used bags back to the store in order to recycle them.