How to recycle plastic bags???

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tamatama14

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#25072 11-Aug-2008 14:01

I have got so many plastic bags, I don't know what to do with it.

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nzkc

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#155900 11-Aug-2008 14:10

My local Foodtown has a used plastic bag recycle bin. Its next to the SPCA can bin. Most supermarkets seem to have this.

tchart

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#155905 11-Aug-2008 14:24

I never knew they could be recyled until I saw it on one of the enironmental programs on TV. Apparntley there is a company in Christchurch that uses old platic bags to manufacture stuff. As no one in NZ recyles them (or not enough) the usually have to ship in raw plastic from China - Ouch!!!

Anyway, most of the time I dont ask for a bag and just carry the stuff (Subway give out bags for every sub, I always tell them no bag).

However we "recycle" our plastic bags as they fit our kitchen bin. So instead of buying bin liners I reuse the supermarket bags. I consider this an acceptable environment trade off in place of recycling them.

tchart

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#155906 11-Aug-2008 14:25

nzkc: My local Foodtown has a used plastic bag recycle bin. Its next to the SPCA can bin. Most supermarkets seem to have this.

The warehouse do this too.

tonyhughes

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#155914 11-Aug-2008 15:00

Call a local pre-school... ours goes through heaps I think.

sbiddle

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#155917 11-Aug-2008 15:16

If they are labelled as being recyclable they can just go in with your normal recycling.

Most suppliers have moved away from biodegradable bags towards recyclable bags, simply because the biodegradable bags cannot be recycled.

manhinli

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#155999 11-Aug-2008 19:34

Do note that some councils tell you NOT to recycle bags as they can somehow jam or block equipment (like here in Manukau).

I recommend going to the supermarket or The Warehouse to recycle your bags.

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TinyTim

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#156187 12-Aug-2008 09:27

tchart:
However we "recycle" our plastic bags as they fit our kitchen bin. So instead of buying bin liners I reuse the supermarket bags. I consider this an acceptable environment trade off in place of recycling them.

The greenies say this isn't good enough! You're supposed to either rinse your food wrappers so you don't have to use bin liners (and wrap in newspaper any food waste you can't compost), or buy biodegradable liners.

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#156228 12-Aug-2008 11:08

TinyTim:
The greenies say this isn't good enough! You're supposed to either rinse your food wrappers so you don't have to use bin liners (and wrap in newspaper any food waste you can't compost), or buy biodegradable liners.

Indeed, as some one who worked at DOC recently I have an reasonable "environmental conscience".

The greenies can say what they want but my conscience is clear as I do think I do way more than the average kiwi household to reduce my enviromental footprint. Some things are not feasible in our household and what the greenies say is usually an extreme which average houshold wont even attempt.

Of course in saying that every single person could do more but being inherently lazy we seldom do more than we are comfortable with.

Someone once told me that if you want a clear conscience you should be able to suitably answer questions from your children/grand children etc in the future about what you did to reduce your impact on the planet. If you cant think of any plausible things you are doing right now then its probably time to re-evaluate things and trade in the 3 litre HSV.

Simonm

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#157525 17-Aug-2008 15:04

Some charity shops/foodbanks often ask for donations of plastic bags too