Do not place plastic bags or film plastics in your recycling bin! Bring all plastic bags to your local grocery store or a large retail outlet; collection location boxes are usually located near bottle/can redemption centers or in front of stores.
Plastic films include items like bread bags, sandwich bags, produce bags, newspaper bags, dry cleaning bags, bubble wrap, packing pillows, shrink wrap from toilet paper/paper towels, etc. All of these film plastics can be recycled in with your plastic bags!
Not sure if a film is acceptable or not? When in doubt try the stretch test. If the plastic baggie stretches when pulled with two hands, it’s the right type of plastic for this recycling program.
New York State’s Plastic Bag Reduction, Reuse and Recycling Act has been in effect since January 1, 2009. Stores with 10,000 square feet or more of retail space and chains which operate five or more stores with greater than 5,000 square feet of retail space, and which provide plastic carry out bags to customers, are required to comply with the law. More information from NYS DEC.
*Even though plastic bags are banned in Ulster County, plastic bags and other films are still accepted for recycling at grocery/retail stores.
