Recycling plastic bags is always a very confusing topic for me. There are so much conflicting information out there: the plastic material is recyclable, the bags are not, etc.
Plastic bags are such a big part of our lives, it's such a shame if there are no better ways to deal with them besides piling them into the landfill! I have been doing some research on what to do with my plastic bags. Almost all the bags come with a little recyclable triangle with a little number inside. Most bags in my household says "2" in the triangle. "2" indicates food grade plastic. While the material is recyclable, the thin layer of bags tend to wrap around the machines and reduces the recovery of other recyclable materials, which causes severe process issues for the recyclers.
Upon some research, I came across a Mecklenburg county recycling program called W.R.A.P., which recycles plastic films and wraps. Clean and dry flexible plastics can be recycled at more than 50 retail locations across the county. Many businesses use this material to make building products, pipe, and new packaging!
My husband stopped by our local Harris Teeter grocery store and asked about the bag recycling program. The store employee directed him to the large green bins right outside of the entrance. Honestly, I have always just walked right pass them without even noticing they are there. They are located right outside of the front entrance for almost all the Harris Teeter stores in the area. A search on Harris Teeter's website revealed that these recycled bags will be sent to TREX to create wood alternative products. What a fantastic idea! I am so thrilled with this discovery, and just dropped off a large bag of clean and dry plastic bags and wraps to this recycle bin.
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