News

Keeping things tangle-free

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is another in a series of recycling tips from the City of Covington's Neighborhood Services Department, Solid Waste & Recycling Division.)
 
COVINGTON, Ky. – By now you know you should NOT put plastic bags and film in your City of Covington recycling cart.
 
That’s because the bags wrap around the rollers that serve to sort the recycling – just like long hair and string gets wrapped around the roller brush of the vacuum you use on your carpet and floors (ugh). But whereas you can easily scissor off the tangle on the vacuum brush, workers at recycling plants have to crawl onto dangerous machinery to cut out plastic bags and film.
 
For the same reason, you shouldn’t bag your cans and other recycled goods in the cart (except for shredded paper, which can be put in clear plastic bags only).
 
What SHOULD you do with plastic bags and film? Just take them to one of a number of local retailers that have bins to collect plastic bags and film, such as Kroger and Meijer.
 
For a complete list of places close to you, visit the Plastic Film Recycling website HERE and type in your zip code.
 
BTW, here’s a more detailed list of what constitutes acceptable “plastic bags/film”:
 
Yes:
·      Plastic retail bags.
·      Produce bags.
·      Newspaper bags.
·      Dry-cleaning bags.
·      Cereal box liners.
·      “Overwrap” on paper towels, toilet paper, cases of sodas and canned goods.
·      Sealed air packages in mailed packages.
·      Ziploc and other zipper-style bags (but cut off the zippers).
 
No:
·      Salad and pre-prepared vegetable bags.
·      Frozen vegetable bags.
·      Pet food bags.
·      “Rigid” plastic films like PVC or PVDC.
·      Polystyrene or polyurethane foam, or polypropylene.
·      Packaging around hazardous materials or medical waste.
 
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