Paper bags have largely been reclaimed, recycled, and reused in the United States, although many communities still ban the use of plastic bags. Recycling paper bags is a small step that makes a big difference in reducing the amount of harmful waste in our landfills. As people are now becoming more environmentally conscious about what they put out there, businesses are now looking to reduce waste in whichever way possible, from using refillable bottles to recyclable packaging. Websites such as Impacked Packaging have more information on this transition and why it is important for businesses to move over to this way of green practices.
Paper bags take two to five minutes to recycle.
Notably, paper bags have extremely high recyclability rates because of their weight and size, as well as their value as a product.
This intrinsic quality makes them an attractive choice for numerous businesses seeking sustainable packaging solutions. Such enterprises often procure paper bags in bulk from reputable sources such as Packaging Chimp and similar sellers.
Anyway, coming back to the topic, if you want to recycle your paper bags, you need to bring them to a participating drop-off location, for which a copy of the recycling bin tag is available at the drop-off location.
After you bring your used paper bags and plastic bags to Staples and other participating stores, you can keep the remaining bags on your clothesline to make yard decorations or to reuse as compost.
There is a huge environmental problem with plastic waste, and the problem will get much worse in the next few decades unless all of us stop using and tossing out plastic bags as fast as we get them, or buy more durable cloth bags.
Let’s make paper bags and plastic bags a mainstream choice for waste management and recycling, and help reduce the amount of waste we produce and landfill space we waste.
With so many different ways to reuse and recycle paper bags, even if you are an indoor person and don’t need to hang them on a line, there is a way to make paper bags useful and valuable by using the bags to make some easy home decorations, as well as yard decorations.
Remember, there are many ways to make a difference in how we handle our garbage and recycling, and if you do decide to hang your plastic bags on the line, remember to follow the instructions so your bags don’t blow away, get wet, or cause damage to your plastic-covered trees and plants.
Let’s help keep plastic bags out of landfills.
Take Away
The top ways to recycle paper bags include:
Place paper bags into a recycling bin that has a fibre skimmer (if you are not sure, contact the recycling centre, local recycling business, or your municipality for information on how to recycle paper bags in your community). Paper bags must be two-ply and relatively lightweight in order to go into a recycle bin with a fibre skimmer. Be sure to look at the guidelines provided by your recycling centre before throwing away paper bags.
Your recycler can help identify your nearest recycling centre by searching on the web and making calls to the recycling facility. If your paper bags are recycled in a municipal recycling centre, the paper bags may end up on a shipping truck or in a plastic recycling bin. Paper bags can also be recycled in the home, in a one-bag-at-a-time recycling bin for recycling in your own home.