Why you should recycle plastic grocery bags
EUGENE, Ore.- Plastic bags are an easy convenience for shoppers.
Recycling them is easy, too: The problem is most people don't know the proper way to do it.
"They are very recyclable," Sarah Grimm, a waste reduction specialist for Lane County Waste Management said. "They are marketed on international commodities markets to plastics manufacturers who need recycled content in their products."
Last year Lane County recycled 44.5 tons of plastic bags. They were sold to recycling companies based on quality and color. But the county says recycling is down. So far this year only 19.74 tons of plastic bags have been recycled.
Grimm said the bags get a bad reputation because they are not sustainable.
"They are an example of an unsustainable system," Grimm said. "We are so used to having the convenience of disposable products, that is basically using something and getting rid of it and we are running out of resources."
Many people don't know the only way to recycle plastic bags is to put them in a collection box specifically for plastic bags.
Terrie Brooks and Lisa Anderson of Eugene said they don't recycle their plastic bags but do reuse them.
"No we don't put them in the recycling bin," Brooks says.
"I do, when we don't use them," Anderson responded.
Most people don't know that plastic bags put in your curbside recycling or the garbage end up in the landfill.
The bags damage the sorting equipment and get wrapped around the machine.
Grimm said the best place to recycle plastic bags is at waste county collection centers as well as most grocery stores.
So how about doing a better job of educating people on how to recycle them since they are "very recyclable" and most people "don't know the proper way to recycle them"Â instead of just banning them?
 @LindseyMichele Very good point...they wait until they make up their mind before they share the solution...time to think about who you vote for on the council.
The Eugene city council is about to ban plastic bags. They are going through the motion of accepting public input, but that won't stop them from the ban. They are liberal progressives who know better than you what is best for you. They have this built in instinct that continually tells them that they know what is best for you, so you had better believe it. That is the way it is with liberal progressives, something is missing upstairs regarding their consideration for the feelings of anyone who does not agree with their agenda. So never mind the added cost in a depressed economy, they will create more dependency by offering free reusable dirty bags for the poor. This kind of thing makes their mind feel a little better after they bully their way into things. So sorry for you city council, I understand you have this disease that there is no know cure for.
@souptonuts I just bought my first box of plastic grocery bags which I will be taking to the grocery stores starting May 1st. I reuse these for trash can liners to cat litter and much more. The law will not stop the use of plastic. I just might hand some out in front of stores as a public service from time to time.
 @souptonuts I feel you have this one wrong on who dictates what is good for all. The Republican party of Conservatives are doing a fine job of that...especially when it comes to a woman's human rights and the right to marry who you are in love with. Conservatives believe they are on a mission from God and must do his work and push their beliefs on the public so hard, they want to make laws pushing their belief system on an entire country of women and refuse to give our gay community the same dignity as any other human. It is a Nazi tactic. I find this group of Conservatives very hateful people that lash out at anyone that does not think and believe the same as them. They do not believe in human rights for a society of diverse people's because they do not like diversity. Human rights is a real issue, not plastic bags..gimme a break. It has been the Liberal progressives that have fought against this American Taliban of Conservatives for human rights for everyone. Plastic bags - reuse them I do and so do most people. This coming from the Eugene city council is sheer avoidance of real issue in the city such as homeless people, drugs, rape the real issues.....plastic bags?  I think this is a good example of why the people of Eugene need to rethink their Vote - get people that address REAL ISSUES not attack a plastic bag.