Since many countries have banned the plastic bag, there have been significant improvements in the availability of recycling for plastic bags. Did you know you can do more than recycle plastic bags at these facilities?
These facilities will take most of your soft plastics too. In addition to plastic bags, the term soft plastics generally refers to the soft plastic wrap or film covering the food items that we buy. Examples include bread bags, cereal box liners, chocolate wrappers, and biscuit packets. Soft plastics also include wrapping from other things such as toilet paper and tissues, bubble wrap, or Ziploc bags.
How do you know if it’s soft plastic? The best way to figure this out is the scrunch test. If you can scrunch the item into a ball, it can be recycled with soft plastics.
Already know what soft plastics are then GOTO Plastic Bag Recycling Near Me to find your nearest location.
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What are Soft Plastics or Plastic Films Made of?
Soft plastic packaging can be made out of a number of materials. They can be made entirely out of one kind of plastic, or they can be layered with different kinds of plastic and other materials like aluminum or cardboard.
Soft plastics are commonly made from the following types of plastic:
They may also be made from other plastics, including:
If you want to read more, why not visit what is plastic? A simple explanation.
As we mentioned above, plastics can also be combined with other materials to create complex, layered materials. An example is when plastic is layered with aluminum foil, like in blister packs for medication.
These layered materials can have excellent properties for preserving food or protecting the contents of packaging from light or moisture but are difficult to recycle. Another good example of these complex materials would be pringle tubes. The tubes are made of cardboard and foil instead of plastic, however, they are just as difficult to recycle.
Tips for reducing and re-using soft plastics
There are many ways to reduce your use of soft plastics, including:
- Remember your reusable bags. Leave some in the car or near the front door, and keep a reusable bag in your handbag.
- Choose unwrapped produce if available.
- Use your own produce bags instead of the plastic ones provided by supermarkets.
- If you need to resort to using plastic produce bags, they can be rinsed and reused for lunches or other food.
- Do more baking. Cooking biscuits and snacks at home is a much healthier option and reduce soft plastics.
- Cut down on chips and chocolate. This one can be tough, but it’s good for the hips and the world.
- Buy from bulk food stores when you can.
- Use reusable wax wraps or silicone covers to protect food instead of cling wrap.
How to Recycle Plastic Bags and Soft Plastics
Curbside Recycling or Specialist Recycling?
Currently, soft plastic recycling is considered specialist recycling in most countries. It is primarily available through supermarkets or other facilities. This makes it relatively convenient. But hopefully, it might have wider availability in the near future – e.g., it can be picked up directly from our homes.
One of the most important things to learn for recycling soft plastics or plastic film is you SHOULD NEVER place these items in your curbside recycling.
They’re one of the worst contaminants which find their way into recycling facilities. These soft wrappers and films can easily get caught in the mechanical equipment at recycling plants. This can lead to costly plant shutdowns and create safety risks for workers who have to remove them.
Check out this excellent video, which helps explain the issue.
So, you’re probably wondering: why not just throw them out in the general waste?
There are several problems with sending plastic bags and soft plastics to landfill.
- It’s a waste of a resource that can be recycled. We should only send things to landfills that cannot be reused or recycled.
- The environmental impact can be significant. Soft plastics are lightweight and can easily blow around and out of landfills, sometimes traveling long distances. This results in a great deal of pollution in the environment.
- Although plastics take a long time to break down completely, they break up into smaller and smaller pieces over time. These small pieces can get into our water systems and oceans, and we’ve seen the stories about animal ingestion. So, what can we do?
It's Simple. There Are Only a Few Steps!
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- First check if you have access to a specialist recycling service, see plastic bag recycling near me below for help.
- Collect your plastic bags and soft plastics.
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- Scrunch them up and place them in a bag. It’s a good idea to collect soft plastics in a plastic bag, so you can place the whole thing into the soft plastics bin.
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- Make sure that all food scraps are removed, and the plastic is dry.
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- Remove any receipts or other items.
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- Take the soft plastics to your local drop off-center, check Plastic Bag Recycling Near Me
It can be hard to remember to bring it with you when you go to the store. Our tip: place it near the front door when it is full or put it directly into your car.
What You Can and Can't Put In?
It’s important to note not all soft plastic recycling facilities are the same. Some items may not be accepted at your local drop-off point, depending on where you live. Be sure to check the website of your local recycler for their dos and don’ts. Go to plastic bag recycling near me.
Here are some tips to get you started.
Do include:
- Plastic bags
- Bread bags
- Plastic packaging from toilet paper
- Cereal box liners
- Reusable shopping bags
- Ziploc bags
- Bubble wrap and packing air pillows
Don’t include:
- Biodegradable/ compostable bags
- Rigid plastic includes plastic bottles and containers, biscuit trays, or strawberry punnets.
- The usual items which go in your curbside bin like glass, tin cans, paper, and cardboard
- Disposable gloves
- Blow-up pool toys
- Balloons
- Medicine or tablet packaging
Check these items carefully as rules can vary:
- Confectionery bags from lollies or chocolates
- Frozen food bags
- Crisp or chip packets – for example, these can be included in Australia but not in the US.
- Food and drink pouches – similarly included in Australia but left out in the US.
- Cling film – different brands of cling film are made from different plastics, so only certain brands are included.
Plastic Bag Recycling Near Me
Below are some options to check out where you live, but I also recommend you contact your local authority via their website or phone or you can try searching “plastic film recycling near me” or “soft plastic recycling near me” in Google.
America – check NexTrex for collections near you, you may have access to Ridwell collection services, or you can try TerraCycle.
United Kingdom – Recyclenow – what to do with plastic film
Australia – Solutions are being worked so please check with your local council. You may have access to the RecycleSmart program, they come to your door and collect your soft plastics for recycling.
New Zealand – Recycling soft plastics store-locator
Worldwide – Check TerraCycle in your country for their soft plastics zero waste box.
If you know of a facility in your country, help us build our list and let us know.
Here are some of the Zero Waste Boxes available through TerraCycle below.
Package Labelling for Soft Plastics
Many countries have packaging labels explaining how to recycle the different packaging components, including the soft plastic part. This will hopefully make life a little easier for us.
Here are a couple of examples from the USA and Australia. Note the mention of the store drop-off for the wrapping,
If you would like to learn more about labeling take a look at our article How to Recycle: Recycling Symbols and Meanings.
What are Recycled Plastic Bags and Soft Plastics Made Into?
Plastic film or plastic wrap can be made into many useful products. The most common use is to make composite timber for decks, benches, or fencing.
Many councils and national parks in Australia are now using these types of products, as they are long-lasting in more extreme conditions. Some companies are listed below. They all have products available for residential and commercial products.
So, if you are planning a new project at home, building a new fence or retaining wall, or in need of a screen or garden bed edging, then why not check them out. Here are just a few examples of these companies globally:
- Recycled Plastic building materials or Envirobuild in the UK
- Replas and Advanced Plastic Recycling in Australia, and
- Futurepost and 2lp in New Zealand.
One great example of products that can be made from soft plastics is furniture. Learn more about recycled plastic furniture.
In Summary
So, no excuses! Start collecting your soft plastics today.
To wrap up:
1. Reduce how much you rely on plastic bags and soft plastic packaging
2. Do not put plastic bags and soft plastics in your curbside recycling bin
3. Do the scrunch test and if it can be scrunched in a ball, it’s a soft plastic
4. Collect your soft plastics and take them to your local drop off location (see links)
5. If you’re looking to renovate or need a new fence check out recycled plastic products
Sources
- APCO (Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation) (2019). Soft Plastic Packaging Working Group 2018.
- Environment Protection Authority (2016). Plastic shopping bags Options Paper. Practical actions for plastic shopping bags.
- The Chemical Engineer, New technique for recycling multi-layer packaging (2018),
- The Guardian (2014), Good product, bad package: top sustainable packaging mistakes
- This is plastic, Things you might not know about landfills.
