Something we can do every day

Star Tribune Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:28:06 GMT
Twin Cities groceries deal with recycling plastic bags

ST. PAUL - Grocery stores across the Twin Cities are trying to get a handle on plastic bags. Plastic bags take up landfill space and require lots of oil to make. The bags can take thousands of years to degrade in landfills. In the Twin Cities, a crew of a couple dozen people collects plastic bags from area grocery stores. The crews work for a recycling program called "It's in the Bag," a partnership among grocery stores and some businesses. The program hires adults with developmental disabilities to collect, sort and bale plastic bags for recycling. Bags are not accepted if they are crinkled, black, dirty, wet or have strings. And while the "It's in the Bag" program has kept 1.1 million pounds of plastic bags out of landfills each of the past two years, John Crea of Merrick Inc., the company that runs the program, points out that they're capturing "a fraction of what's out there to be captured."

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