Chloe Zhang
Plastic bags are a major contributor to pollution and recycling contamination in New Jersey. While they can be recycled, they cannot be placed in curbside recycling containers as they interfere with the mechanical recycling process and cause slowdowns and damage to equipment at recycling facilities. Instead, residents can recycle plastic bags at municipal recycling centers, supermarkets, and big-box stores that have containers available for plastic bag recycling. Some stores in New Jersey, such as Walmart, also provide collection bins for plastic bags at their entrances. The state has implemented a ban on single-use plastic bags and containers, encouraging the use of reusable bags. Properly recycling plastic bags helps the environment, reduces costs for the township, and can create valuable products such as decking and playground equipment.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Plastic bags in curbside recycling container | Not allowed |
| Plastic bags in residential curbside container | Not allowed |
| Plastic bags in the recycling bin | Not allowed |
| Plastic bags as a contaminant | Yes |
| Plastic bags causing damage to recycling processing equipment | Yes |
| Plastic bags recyclable by themselves | Yes |
| Supermarkets and big box stores with containers for plastic bag recycling | Many |
| Plastic bags recyclable at Middletown Recycling Center | Yes |
| Plastic bags recyclable at municipal and county recycling programs | Yes |
| Plastic bags banned in New Jersey | Yes |
| Date of ban implementation | May 4, 2022 |
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What You'll Learn
- Plastic bags cannot be recycled in curbside residential containers
- Plastic bags can be recycled at municipal recycling centres
- Plastic bags can be recycled at some supermarkets and big box stores
- Plastic bags can be recycled into products like decking and playground equipment
- Plastic bags cause damage to recycling processing equipment
Plastic bags cannot be recycled in curbside residential containers
Recycling facilities in New Jersey do not accept plastic bags in curbside recycling bins. Some cities even impose fines if they find plastic bags in curbside recycling. This is because plastic bags interfere with the mechanical recycling process. They can cause slowdowns, stoppages, and potential damage to recycling processing equipment at the recycling processing facility.
However, plastic bags can be recycled through other means. Many supermarkets and big-box stores have containers available for customers to recycle plastic bags. Some stores that accept plastic bags for recycling in New Jersey include Stop & Shop, Shop Rite, Target, and Whole Foods. Additionally, the Middletown Recycling Center collects clean plastic bags for recycling.
It is important to recycle plastic bags properly to help the environment and reduce costs for taxpayers. When plastic bags are disposed of properly, it results in a cleaner recycling stream, making the recycling product more profitable and raising the value of the product.
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Plastic bags can be recycled at municipal recycling centres
Plastic bags cannot be placed in residential curbside recycling containers in New Jersey. They are considered contaminants and can cause slowdowns, stoppages, and potential damage to recycling processing equipment at facilities.
However, plastic bags can be recycled at municipal recycling centres in New Jersey. Many towns offer municipal recycling centres that handle items that cannot be recycled through curbside collection, such as scrap metal, electronics, polystyrene, corks, and books.
The Middletown Recycling Center, for example, collects clean, single-use plastic bags for recycling. Residents can bring their plastic bags to 52 Kanes Lane and deposit them in the designated bin. Other towns in New Jersey, such as Camden County, also have similar programs in place.
Additionally, many stores in New Jersey accept plastic bags for recycling. These include supermarkets and big-box stores like Stop & Shop, Shop Rite, Target, and Whole Foods. Collection bins are usually located near the store's entrance.
By properly recycling plastic bags, residents can help the environment, reduce costs for the township, and contribute to the creation of new products such as decking, playground equipment, and fences.
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Plastic bags can be recycled at some supermarkets and big box stores
Plastic bags cannot be placed in curbside recycling containers in New Jersey. They interfere with the mechanical recycling process, causing slowdowns, stoppages, and potential damage to equipment at recycling facilities. However, plastic bags can be recycled at some supermarkets and big box stores, which have containers available for customers to drop off their plastic bags.
In Middletown, New Jersey, the Middletown Recycling Center collects clean plastic bags for recycling at 52 Kanes Lane. Several stores in the area, including Stop & Shop, Shop Rite, Target, and Whole Foods, also accept plastic bags free of charge, typically providing collection bins near the store entrance. Properly recycled plastic bags can be used to create new products such as decking, playground equipment, and fences.
Some Walmart stores in New Jersey provide bins for customers to return the blue bags available for online and in-person orders. Additionally, Fresh Central Grocery in Jersey City offers reusable bags.
It is important to note that plastic bags should be kept separate from single-stream recycling. When disposed of in plastic garbage bags, the items inside are often not recycled, as workers at recycling plants do not open these bags.
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Plastic bags can be recycled into products like decking and playground equipment
In New Jersey, plastic bags cannot be placed in curbside recycling containers. They are considered the most problematic contaminant found in the curbside recycling mix. Plastic bags interfere with the mechanical recycling process by causing slowdowns, stoppages, and potential damage to recycling processing equipment. However, plastic bags can be recycled separately and are valuable when recycled properly. Many supermarkets and big-box stores in New Jersey, such as Stop & Shop, Shop Rite, Target, and Whole Foods, accept plastic bags for recycling.
When recycled, plastic bags can be turned into new products. One primary use for recycled plastic film packaging is durable plastic or composite lumber used for decking, fences, and other outdoor applications. Recycled plastic bags are also used to create plastic lumber for decking and playground equipment. For instance, Trex, one of the largest recyclers of plastic bags, claims that a 500-square-foot composite Trex deck contains approximately 140,000 recycled plastic bags.
The recycling process for plastic bags involves chipping the bags into pellets, which can then be reprocessed into new products. While these pellets are often used to create new plastic bags, they are more likely to be shipped to companies like Trex to be manufactured into plastic lumber. This process of breaking down plastic into its building blocks for reuse as brand-new plastic is known as advanced recycling technology.
It is important to recycle plastic bags properly to reduce contamination in the recycling stream. In Middletown, New Jersey, plastic bags account for over 70% of recycling contamination. By decreasing the number of plastic bags in the stream, the recycling product becomes more profitable and raises the value of the recycled product. Properly recycling plastic bags not only helps the environment but also directly impacts taxpayers by reducing the cost of waste removal for the town.
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Plastic bags cause damage to recycling processing equipment
In New Jersey, plastic bags cannot be recycled in curbside residential containers. They are considered contaminants in Single Stream residential recycling and are the most problematic contaminant found in the curbside recycling mix. Plastic bags interfere with the mechanical recycling process, causing slowdowns, stoppages, and potential damage to recycling processing equipment.
Plastic bags can damage the screening equipment used at Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) to sort and size recyclables. As recycled material travels across the screening surface, plastic bags can become wrapped around star-shaped discs or tangled in the machinery. This can cause the equipment to clog or blind, resulting in reduced efficiency and potential harm to the machine.
For example, at the Waste Management plant in Newark, where Middletown's recycling is processed, the sorting mechanism needs to be cleaned out twice in a 10-hour shift to remove contaminants, mainly plastic bags. This process takes about 45 minutes each time, costing significant time and labor. Additionally, plastic bags can get caught in the rotating shafts of the sorter, causing daily delays and potential damage.
To prevent damage and maintain peak efficiency, the recycling equipment must be stopped, and the plastic bags manually removed. This can lead to compounding issues, as the screen works at a lower efficiency when blinded. It can also result in materials being mixed with the wrong stream, requiring additional sorting or potentially being rejected by the processor.
It is important to dispose of plastic bags properly to avoid these issues. In New Jersey, many supermarkets and stores have containers available for customers to recycle plastic bags separately from other recyclables. Properly recycling plastic bags can help the environment and reduce costs for taxpayers.
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Frequently asked questions
No, you cannot recycle any type of plastic bags in your residential curbside container. Plastic bags are a contaminant in Single Stream residential recycling and can cause slow-downs, stoppages and potential damage to recycling processing equipment.
Plastic bags can be recycled but they need to be recycled separately from single-stream recycling. Many supermarkets and big box stores have containers available for customers to recycle plastic bags. Some examples of stores in New Jersey that accept plastic bags for recycling include Stop & Shop, Shop Rite, Target and Whole Foods.
The following items can be placed in your curbside recycling container: newspapers, mixed paper, magazines, catalogs, school papers, office papers, paper packaging, paperboard cartons for foods, softcover books, phone books, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, aluminum and steel cans, aluminum and steel lids, plastic bottles and jars with #1 or #2 found on the bottom, milk and juice cartons, and paper towel and toilet paper inserts.
You can donate your excess reusable bags to a local food bank or pantry. The Community FoodBank of New Jersey has launched a lookup tool in partnership with Wegmans, Stop & Shop, and Wakefern Food Corp. to allow residents to find a pantry accepting reusable bags near them.
