Ever wonder what to do with those pesky plastic bags? You’re not alone.

“A co-worker of mine has collected plastic bags for the past 3 years. He says we might need them. Well now they are taking up to much space. I want to recycle them. Can i put them with the rest of the office items i recycle?”

– Lauren, Green Philly Blog Reader

Ahh, Lauren. You must be still frustrated over how Philly hasn’t passed a Plastic Bag Ban, just like me! Plastic Bags…a highly un-recycled, taking up to 1000 years to degrade…they’re problematic and harm wildlife.

Unfortunately you can NOT recycle plastic bags in Philadelphia Single-Stream recycling… along with Styrofoam,  PVC pipe, packing inserts & “peanuts.”

Therefore, you can’t put them out with that office recycling, either. Here’s what you CAN do with them instead.

Where to Recycle Plastic Bags in Philadelphia

• Reuse them at the grocery store if you forget your reusable bag.
• Recycle plastic bags at Grocery Stores: Whole Foods, Genuardi’s, Giant, ShopRite & many other stores have bins to recycle plastic bags. (Hint: Call ahead to make sure your fav store still has a bin.)
• Use them for liners in your household trashcans – but you can typically ’empty’ garbage into one bigger bag instead of constantly using new bags to line.
• Animal Shelters like PAWS need them for doggie doo or cat litter.

Most importantly – encourage your co-worker to stop accepting bags & switch to reusable!

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher