Recyclable Plastic Bags

Published by American Chemistry Council

Plastic grocery bags are an extremely resource-efficient disposable bag choice.

• Plastics grocery bags require 40 percent less energy to manufacture than paper bags.*
  
• For every seven trucks needed to deliver paper bags, only one truck is needed for the same number of plastic bags, helping to save energy and reduce emissions.
• It takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper.*
  

Less material means less waste and fewer emissions.

• 2,000 plastic bags weigh 30 lbs; 2,000 paper bags weigh 280 lbs. Plastic bags take up a lot less space in a landfill.*
• Plastic bags generate 80 percent less waste than paper bags.*
• Plastic grocery bags make up a tiny fraction (less than 0.5 percent) of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream.**
• The manufacture and use of paper bags generates 70% more air emissions than plastic.*
• Plastic bags generate only 40% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of non-composted paper bags and only 21% of the GHG emissions of composted paper bags.***
• The production of plastic bags consumes less than 4 percent of the water needed to make paper bags.***

Plastic grocery bags are fully recyclable and the number of recycling programs is increasing daily.

• Plastic bags can be made into dozens of useful new products, such as building and construction products, low-maintenance fencing and decking, and of course, new bags.
• There is high demand for this material, and in most areas, demand exceeds the available supply because many consumers are not aware that collection programs are available at local stores.
• In recent years, many grocers and retailers have introduced plastic bag collection programs. Consumers should look for a collection bin, usually located at the front of the store. The number of municipal drop-off centers and curbside programs to recycle plastic bags is increasing also. Consumers can locate plastic bag recycling programs in their communities by visiting www.PlasticBagRecycling.org.
• In addition to grocery bags, other plastic retail bags, dry cleaning bags and newspaper bags can be included wherever plastic bags are collected for recycling.

In addition to recycling, a recent national survey shows that over 90% of Americans reuse their plastic bags.

• About 65% of Americans reuse their bags for trash disposal. Other common uses include lunch bags and pet pick-up.
• In this regard, the reuse of a plastic shopping bag prevents a second bag from being purchased to fulfill these necessary functions.
  

Source:
* U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Questions about Your Community Shopping Bags: Paper or Plastic.
** U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Municipal Waste in the United States: 2005 Facts and Figures.
*** Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests & Landscape (SAEFL). Life Cycle Inventories for Packagings.