As many avid recyclers have keenly noticed, as of March 1st Arcata Community Recycling Center stopped accepting film plastic (plastic bags and wraps – the stretchy stuff) at both the Arcata and Eureka drop-off sites for recycling. You may be wondering what this is all about and what to do now with the bags of plastic bags you have saved up.
Film plastic recycling is a complicated issue. It's not that the material is not recyclable. Plastic bags are recycled into all sorts of durable goods including decking, parking curbs, shopping carts, and even new plastic bags. However, with the recent slump in the global economy has come a decrease in demand, and therefore value, of recovered materials. Less recycled plastic decking being made means less plastic bags are needed as feedstock. As a result manufactures can afford to be more particular about the quality of that feedstock. All of the commodity values for materials ACRC processes have dropped sharply since the summer of 2008 -- the value of film plastic has dropped to $0 per ton (actually to a value of negative $800/ton when shipping costs are factored in). But demand does remain for “high quality” materials – those with very little contamination (i.e. trash, non-recyclables) in the mix. ACRC’s film plastic was generally being recycled into decking where any darkly colored plastics are seen as less desirable contaminants.
Have you ever recycled a brown soil bag or black garbage bag at ACRC? I have.
Luckily California, being the progressive state that it is, recognizes that plastic bags pose a significant hazard to our environment when left unattended to blow “away” in a slight breeze as well as their utility as a recyclable material. AB 2449 (Levine) was passed in 2006 and creates a system for recycling plastic bags in the state. This piece of legislation, effective July 1, 2007, requires large grocery stores and pharmacies (over 10,000 sq. ft.) that distribute plastic carryout bags (and sell bagged or plastic stretch wrapped products) to have at-store plastic bag recycling programs. AB 2449 also requires these stores to make reusable bags available to customers for purchase in lieu of paper or plastic bags.
Since this system already exists for plastic bag recycling, ACRC made the economic choice to let stores handle the recycling of their bags and allocate shrinking funds towards the recycling of other valueless materials for which there is no other system. Mixed plastic containers are such an example. Yogurt cups, salsa tubs, to-go plastic clamshell containers, laundry soap scoops, and red plastic “keg” cups are all #1-#7 plastic containers which in today’s market have no value. Factories continue to accept this material from ACRC for recycling but are not paying for it.
Before ACRC ceased to accept plastic bags all of the major grocery and pharmacy retailers in the Humboldt Bay area were contacted to make sure they were informed about the plastic bag recycling regulations. Each store already had bins in place. Additionally, store managers assured ACRC staff that bins would be convenient and visible for customer use and that plastic bags from other retailers would also be accepted.
Of course it’s always best to answer the question “Paper or plastic?” with “Neither, thank you. I brought my own bag.”
