Plastic bag recycling

If you are overwhelmed with plastic grocery bags and are horrified that they could end up as part of a plastic island in the middle of the ocean, vow to recycle them instead by returning them to a nearby drop-off location. Find the nearest retail drop-off location at www.plasticfilmrecycling.org or bring your clean household bags and wrap to the Columbia Heights Recycling Center at 3801 Madison St. NE, open Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm.

Every six months, when over 500 pounds of plastic has been collected at the recycling center, Columbia Heights qualifies to receive a free park bench through a recycling program sponsored by Trex, a Minnesota company that builds lawn furniture from recycled plastics. So far, the program has netted the city four park benches, according to Jesse Davies, Columbia Heights Public Works.

Other plastics and film accepted through the Trex program include produce and bread bags, cereal box liners, ice bags, Ziploc and other resealable bags, newspaper sleeves, dry cleaning bags, bubble wrap and more.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some retail locations may temporarily halt collection of plastic bags. If that’s the case, or if you aren’t venturing out, try compressing your bags inside another plastic bag until you are able to recycle them.