Student Tribune
Green tip - Bags, bags, bags!
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, (www.biologicaldiversity.org), the
average American family takes home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year.
According to Waste Management, only 1 percent of these bags are properly
returned for recycling. So that is around 1,485 bags per family that end up in
landfills or as litter. Up to 80 percent of ocean plastic pollution enters from
the land, and nearly 100,000 marine animals are killed by plastic bags
annually.
How can you help? If you are getting your groceries bagged, recycle the bags
once you are done with them--but not in the blue bins at home
or at MCC. Most major retail stores (Walmart, Target, Wegmans, Tops, etc.)
accept CLEAN and DRY plastic bags and product wrap for recycling. You can find
the closest store that accepts the plastic bags by searching your zip code at
the Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) or the American Chemistry Council. https://www.plasticfilmrecycling.org/recycling-bags-and-wraps/find-
drop-off-location/
According to Monroe County's Ecopark site, to determine if a plastic
bag/wrap is recyclable, try this rule of thumb -if you can put your thumb
through the plastic and it stretches (also marked #2 or #4), it is likely the
correct type of plastic film for recycling at major retail stores like Wegmans
or Tops. Examples of items that are usually acceptable for recycling include
newspaper bags, cereal/cracker box liners, dry cleaning bags, bread bags,
zip-type bags (cut off the sliding mechanism), shrink wrap, bubble wrap,
plastic shipping envelopes. Ecopark also accepts CLEAN and DRY bags.
New York State legislators have agreed to ban single-use plastic bags from
retail sales (California banned the bags in 2016 and all counties in Hawaii
have a ban). The ban would begin March 1, 2020. You can prepare for the ban by
purchasing reusable bags or repurposing a cloth tote or bag you already own.
Start using those instead of plastic or paper bags now!
Remember single use retail plastic bags don't go in curbside bins or MCC
blue recycle bins. Take them back to the store!
Penwarden, Ann
Sustainability Steering Committee’s Recycling Committee
04/10/2019