Plastic Shopping Bags

Material Description

Plastic shopping bags are used to carry groceries and other purchases home from stores. Most are made of polyethylene film. Several types of polyethylene exist, and some bags may be labeled with a specific resin code (such as HDPE #2, which stands for high density polyethylene, or LDPE #4, which stands for low density polyethylene). Most grocery bags are HDPE #2, while thicker shopping bags, bread bags, newspaper bags and dry cleaning bags are LDPE #4 or a similar material. Both these types of plastic can be readily recycled into other products such as textiles, flower pots, plastic lumber and playground equipment. In most cases, however, they cannot be recycled through your community's household recycling program. See the bottom of this page for recycling information. See our Frequently Asked Questions About Plastic Shopping Bags page and our Plastic Shopping Bag Info for Local Governments page for more information.

Environmental Impacts

Plastic bags generate a number of environmental impacts throughout their life cycle. These include greenhouse gas emissions and pollution from the process of extracting and refining petroleum or natural gas, manufacturing the plastic bags, and transporting them to market.

Research has shown that manufacturing and transportation of paper shopping bags create more pollution and use more energy and water than plastic shopping bags.

Disposal of plastic bags creates additional environmental impacts. Plastic bag litter causes several problems, including the following:

• Bags clog gutters and sewer grates, causing flooding.
• Bags get caught in trees, fences and other objects, where they become an eyesore.
• Bags kill animals--particularly birds and marine life--when the animals become entangled in the plastic or when they mistake pieces of plastic for food.

Plastic can take hundreds of years to degrade, and can pose risks even when it has degraded into smaller pieces, since these are especially attractive to animals as food. Plastic film adversely affects landfill operations by interfering with moisture distribution and leachate flow within landfilled waste.

Too Valuable to Waste

According to several sources, including reusablebags.com [exit DNR], U.S. shoppers use an estimated 100 billion plastic bags every year and recycle only a small percentage of them, though market demand for the recycled bags is growing. Many of the bags are reused by consumers as trash liners or pet waste bags, but the vast majority end up in landfills or causing harm in the environment after being thrown away.

Legal Requirements

No state laws currently exist in Wisconsin addressing plastic bag recycling, labeling of plastic bags as recyclable or compostable bags as compostable, banning plastic bag use or imposing taxes on plastic bags--these activities are neither required nor prohibited.

Preferred Handling Option: Reduce, Reuse or Recycle

Paper bags create many of the same pollutants as plastic bags during manufacturing and transport. Therefore, the best option is to reduce use of disposable shopping bags by instead using a reusable cloth bag or other reusable container, and reuse or recycle disposable plastic and paper bags when you do have them.

Plastic bag recycling opportunities are still limited in some areas but are growing and include:

• Several supermarkets and other retailers accept plastic shopping bags for recycling. They include: Roundy's (Copp's, Pick 'n Save, Rainbow Foods and Metro Market stores), Kohl's department stores, Trig's Foods stores and Wal-Mart. Check with these stores to see what types of plastic bags they accept.
• Many dry cleaners accept plastic dry cleaning bags (and wire hangers) for recycling and reuse. Check with dry cleaners in your area to see which accept these items.

Although most plastic bags and other films are made of a recyclable material, polyethylene plastic, local curbside collection programs in Wisconsin are generally not yet equipped to accept them. Plastic bags and films clog recycling machinery and are difficult to separate from other materials. For now, the best option is to take clean, empty bags to a retailer that offers a recycling bin to its customers. The Web site plasticbagrecycling.org has information for consumers [exit DNR] on what types of plastic bags and film can be recycled and allows you to search for stores in your area that recycle plastic bags.

Compostable bags (also known as biodegradable) should not be placed in recycling containers for plastic bags, because they will interfere with the recycling process. In addition, plastic film that has been in contact with food, such as cling wrap and frozen food wrap, is not recyclable.

Resources

• See our Frequently Asked Questions About Plastic Shopping Bags page and our Plastic Shopping Bag Info for Local Governments page for more information.
• Plasticbagrecycling.org [exit DNR] has information for consumers, businesses, recycling managers and recyclers on what types of plastic film can be recycled and how to set up recycling programs.