Plastic Bag Recycling

reusable bag infographic

Plastic bags are filling our landfills

Washingtonians use more than two billion plastic bags each year and according to the Environmental Protection Agency only 4.3 percent are recycled. In 2010, 49,000 tons of plastic bags and film were disposed in the King County Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. Most of the bags could have been recycled. The average lifespan of a plastic bag is only 12 minutes.

Reduce your impact

You can reduce the impact of plastic bags by:
  • Using a reusable shopping bag for groceries or produce items.
  • Hand carrying out small amounts of groceries (for example, say “no bag please” when a checker or bagger offers a bag for one or two items).
  • Take used plastic bags back to the store for recycling.