Do you recycle plastic wrap?

Up until this week if I had heard the phrase "film recycling" I would have thought the term was referring the 35mm variety. I recently learned that the term refers to plastic wrap that is used to package so many products that we purchase such as toilet paper, produce, frozen foods, and unnecessarily, so many other food and household items. With few exceptions, (See my blog post from  earlier this month about a program being tested by the city of Boise which converts these lower grade plastics to fuel) most curbside pickup programs do not allow plastic wrap or film to be added to your mixed or plastics recycling bin.  I have since learned that plastic film is a valuable commodity which can be recycled into a variety of products - the most common being composite lumber. This video provides an informative overview of the types of plastics that are used in making composite wood materials.



You may have seen a box upon entering the grocery store for the collection of used shopping bags. I never gave these much thought partly because I try not to use plastic shopping bags, and for those I do receive, I usually re-purpose them at home. However, the secondary market for plastic wrap is growing and the American Chemical Council has embarked on a film recycling campaign called W.R.A.P. (Wrap Recycling Action Program.) Their goal is go increase the recycling rate of plastic film by businesses and individual consumers. If you go to plasticfilmrecycling.org and type in your zip code you will find a list of businesses in your area which collect these light weight plastics. I was surprised to see how many stores participate in my area - eight within a ten mile radius.

I decided to check out one of the grocery stores on the list, Shaw's, and found a large round cardboard at the entrance to the store labeled "Recycle Plastic Bags Here." I inquired with a store employee and found out that all types of plastic wraps can be put in the drum, not just bags, which was evident by the materials inside.

Although I now know that most plastic wraps can be recycled at this and similar drop-off locations, in order to increase consumer recycling better signage is in order. Also, at several of the other store locations nearby I couldn't even locate the recycling container. Recommendation number two is to have the drop off location clearly visible to the consumer. If it's at the loading dock it may be useful for the business, but not the general public.

Obviously the best option is to forgo plastic bags altogether and to purchase products with a limited amount of packaging, with a preference toward plastic-free. However I am glad to know that for

Suet cakes packaged in 100% recyclable material

item that do come wrapped in plastic the packaging does not have to end up in the trash or worse yet, in the ocean where it will continue to cause havoc for centuries to come. Read this story on more bad news world-wide as a result of plastic pollution in the oceans - Plastic Pollutions is Killing Coral Reefs