BAG RECYCLING INFO Phone: 617-654-6580 Boston, MA02108 1 Winter Street What Happens to Plastic Bags? Most plastic bags and plastic films SACK are recycled into outdoor furniture, decking and railing materials for homes and THE businesses. Approximately 2,250 plastic bags go into one typical 16-foot decking board! BAG! What About Paper Bags? Paper shopping bags are recycled and used in the manufacturing of new grocery bags and cardboard boxes. MASSACHUSETTS RESOURCES CONSUMERS: Find a Plastic Bag Recycling USE FEWER Drop-Off Location DISPOSABLE www.plasticbagrecycling.org SHOPPING BAGS! Massachusetts Department of DISTRIBUTED BY Environmental Protection www.mass.gov/dep/recycle Massachusetts Food Association MASSACHUSETTS FOOD ASSOCIATION www.mafood.com DISPOSABLE SHOPPING BAGS: PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS In MarchWHAT’S 2009, the BEING Department DONE of HOW YOU CAN HELP REFUSE! In March 2009, the Department of First things first: Do you even need a Environmental Protection (MassDEP) bag? Tell the clerk that you'll carry out and Massachusetts Food Association your handful of items. Be sure to keep (MFA) set a mutual goal of reducing by your receipt handy! one-third the number of paper and plastic shopping bags distributed by MFA’s REDUCE! 500+ member grocery stores and Use disposable shopping bags only supermarkets by the year 2013. when necessary: to keep household soaps and cleaners separate from To achieve this goal, MFA members have foodstuffs, for example. committed to: REUSE! • Promoting the use of reusable bags Bring your own canvas, cloth or Disposable shopping bags contribute • Providing in store plastic bag durable plastic bags. Many grocery to a variety of economic, recycling bins for customers stores offer 5¢ or 10¢ off your order • Offering reusable shopping bags for when you “bring back the sack.” environmental, health and safety problems. They: sale made with recycled content • Using disposable bags with more RECYCLE! recycled content Return unwanted plastic shopping bags • Waste natural resources • Clog our landfills to your grocer. Please do not put plastic bags in your curbside recycling bin. • Create litter in our communities PLASTIC BAG recycling stations at However, you may recycle paper • And, endanger animals through ingestion and strangulation grocery stores and supermarkets accept a shopping bags in your curbside bin or at wide range of plastic bags, including: your community’s drop-off recycling • Grocery bags center. • Newspaper bags • Dry cleaning bags • Retail shopping bags Cutting down on the (with string ties and rigid plastic handles removed) use of disposable bags • Bread, cereal and produce bags simply makes sense! • Plastic wrap from paper products and bulk items .