Nope, Plastic Bags Don’t Go in the Recycling Bin

As I have stated before, Chicago has an issue with recycling. We aren’t good at following directions.

Previously, we were allowed to put plastic bags into our blue carts, but last year the City changed its tune. And for good reason.

Plastic bags wreak havoc on the recycling center’s equipment. See for yourself.

The employees have to stop the work they are doing to go inside the machine and cut the plastic bags out, sometimes more than 3 times a day. What a waste of time and money!

I have been fully aware of this change and why we can’t recycle them in our blue cart, so I often share this information with those who still aren’t aware (this includes my grandmother and K).

Inside my apartment, I store my recyclables in a bin and then transfer them to the cart, eliminating the need for a plastic bag as a go-between. The plastic bags we do end up accumulating sit under the sink until I bring them to a grocery store that has plastic bag recycling.

If you didn’t know why Chicago can’t put their Walgreens bags in their blue carts, now you know!