We have too many plastic bags. Let’s dispose of them properly

With the overuse of plastic bags, the Prince William County Solid Waste Division encourages residents to reduce their use of them and to properly recycle them.

The Problem With Plastic Bags

The Prince William County Solid Waste Division is responsible for coordinating the county’s solid waste planning. They also operate the Prince William County Sanitary Landfill and the Balls Ford Road Compost Facility.

In 2013, the Solid Waste Division conducted a study on the trash going into the landfill. They found that plastic film made up 7% of trash flowing into the landfill. Plastic material can take years to degrade, and the wind often blows them into the trees and roads.

In addition, they also end up in the waterways and into farmers’ crops.

“When they get into the waterways, I found that the fourth most common article of marine debris was plastic bags. They also cause problems to farmers when they get into their crops. They get airborne and you see them in trees, you see them lying around the roads everywhere,” said Scott Macdonald, the Recycling Program Manager at the Prince William County Solid Waste Division.

According to information from Penn State, millions of barrels of oil are used to produce plastic each year in the U.S. The majority of them are not biodegradable, and the average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store.

How the Solid Waste Division Plans to Solve This

With these problems, the Solid Waste Division is urging people to use reusable bags and teaching them how to recycle them properly.

“Using media, sharing the information through articles, sharing information through public education. We try to stress the use of reusable bags. If we do an event, oftentimes, reusable bags will be one of the items that we have as a free promo. It’s really all about changing your habits,” said Deborah Campbell, Public Information Specialist of the Recycling Program.

The Solid Waste Division has also given out information on the proper way to recycle plastic bags. One common mistake people make is putting their plastic bags in the regular recycling bin. However, plastic bags cannot be recycled in the same way as any other material.

“They actually cause lots of trouble when they’re placed in the curbside bin because when they get to the material recovery facility or the recycling center, materials are sorted and separated by machinery, and those plastic bags get tangled up in the equipment and they have to shut down production. People have to physically clean that out so it’s not productive and dangerous,” said Campbell.

What people need to do instead is take their bags to a grocery store or retail outlet that has a plastic bag recycling program to be collected.

“There are a number of stores that have programs. Large-discount stores like Target, Walmart, Safeway, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Home Depot, and Kohls have programs. It’s really convenient, and once you get in the habit of taking your bags back when you go to those stores, they can be recycled in those programs,” said Campbell.

If you want to know more about what types of plastic film can be recycled, and where you can take them to be recycled, visit plasticfilmrecycling.org.