Recycling plastic bags is painful but very necessary.  Yes, the goal is not to have any in the first place. We have to gather them up and recycle them at our local grocery stores as there is no curbside recycling of them in our location. No one wants to add to the plastic soup of waste floating in the Pacific Ocean.

What is recyclable?

Plastic grocery bags Type 2 (high-density polyethylene film – HDPE) and Type 4 (low density or linear-low density polyethylene film – LDPE/LLDPE)

Newspaper bags, dry cleaning bags, bread bags, produce bags, toilet paper, napkin, and paper towel wraps, cereal box liners, diaper wrap, case wrap (water bottles, snacks)

Zip lock bags (Remove hard components)

Shrink Wrap or electronic wrap

Clean and dry bags thoroughly before recycling, making sure they are empty of any and all debris.

What is not recyclable?

Plastic bags that are dark in color or bags that have handles or drawstrings. Remove handles and drawstrings to recycle the rest.

No prepackaged food bags including frozen food bags (e.g., prewashed salad bags)
Film that has been painted or has excessive glue
Bio-based or compostable plastic bags. Compost them!
Plastic food packaging and plastic food or cling wrap (Saran wrap).
Type 7 plastic bags

Plastic Bag Industry’s Influence

(No this did not happen in China) — California schools included environmental curriculum sending positive messages about plastic shopping bags due to lobbying efforts by the  American Chemical Council.  An eleventh grade textbook called “The Advantages of Plastic Shopping Bags” had the title and sum of the text inserted almost verbatim from letters written by the Chemistry Council. This is obviously pretty disheartening to hear and shows the power of lobbyists.

Also see our article: Recycle tips plus hard to recycle items tip

It is that time of year.  Back to school!

Millions of people flood the stores to buy new clothes, backpacks, binders, computers, etc.  Here are some tips to save money and be a little more green. Amazon has a back to school sale.

1) Stick with the same wardrobe. Buying a new set of clothes just to wear something new, is wasteful.   Also try hand me downs, thrift shops.

2) Reuse school supplies.  Look through your garage and dig up those old pens, markers, backpacks, binders, etc that can be reused.  You don’t need the latest commercial fade advertised all over your stuff. Donate unwanted items so others can reuse them.  If you need a new backpack buy one with natural fibers and skip PVC based ones. (Usually marked as #3)

3) Buy or use a re-usable lunch bag/box.  Also pack items in washable plastic containers, reusable utensils, not throwaway plastic bags. Thermos work great for drinks. Forget about juice boxes, use refillable BPA free bottles. Avoid lunch boxes with lead paint, PVC (Usually marked #7) , BPA, or antimicrobial chemicals.

4) Upgrade your computer, do not buy a new one.  Add some ram or a bigger hard drive.  Clean off junk that is un-necessary. Defragment your hard drive. Consult our Green Electronics Article.

5) Plan eco friendly transportation.  Bike or walk to school. Take the bus. Worst case, carpool with a friend.

6) Buy paper goods with high recycled content. Avoid PVC (#3) plastic. Binders, Binder paper, manila folders, notebooks, etc.  At least 30% post consumer waste is good.

7) Art supplies can contain many toxic chemicals so stick to water based paints with natural pigments, avoid polymer clays as they contain PVC. Buy natural brushes and pens with recycled materials. Avoid petroleum products by sticking to soy or beeswax crayons.  Water based glues are better than toxic ones or rubber cement.

Pencils should be plain wood, not painted, scented, or coated.

9) Cell phones should be low on the radiation scale and should be used with our tips.

Naked Binder, Eco-friendly binders

Naked Binder makes Eco-friendly binders, folders and tab dividers with sustainability and design in mind. Recycled and recyclable, strong as a bull and 130 choices to match your mood, class list or decor, these are the perfect binder for students or educators who care. Priced the same as most vinyl items.