As you’ve no doubt noticed, plastic grocery bags have been building up during the COVID-19 pandemic, with local stores that had previously banned them going back to using them in abundance, to avoid the disease risks associated with reusable bags.

Plastic grocery bags are NOT recyclable curbside. (Please do NOT place them in the Harrison Industries recycling bins and barrels at your businesses and homes.)

So the question arises of what to do with all the single-use plastic bags we’ve accumulated.

As many of our local cities remind their residents and business owners, there are plenty of great reuses for them: They’re excellent trash liners and pet waste bags, for example. Also, you should take some with you when you walk on the beach or in your neighborhood, to pick up loose trash as you go. Every little bit helps to keep litter out of our environment and ultimately our oceans.

Once we’ve done all we can to reduce our consumption and reuse of plastic bags, we can take what’s left to be recycled at a location that accepts them. The bags can be dropped off at select local stores in designated bins, usually found at the front of the store, for repurposing into other products.

To find a location near you, go to plasticfilmrecycling.org/drop-off and put your ZIP code in the store locator field.