Plastic Bags. Are they recyclable?

Our Hotline Assistant Barbara Lopez breaks down plastic bag recycling. BLopez_team

Did you know that San Diego uses 500 million plastic bags every year? And what’s even more shocking…less than 3% of plastic bags are recycled in California. While there are lots of discussions regarding plastic bag bans and ordinances, until we can cut down on our plastic bag usage, let’s talk more about recycling them!

Plastic bag usage

Some background about bans:

There has been much debate recently, both locally and at the state level, regarding plastic bag bans. At the state level, State Senator Alex Padilla is looking to reintroduce legislation that would keep grocery stores and pharmacies from providing customers with single-use plastic bags by July 1, 2015. If this legislation passes, it would make California the first state in the country to ban plastic bags. Locally, San Diego City Council is also looking to vote on a citywide single use plastic bag ordinance later this year. Supporters of such bills argue too many plastic bags end up as litter or take up space in landfills since few of them are recycled. Of the 14 billion plastic bags that Californians use per year, very few of those are actually recycled. Instead, they end up in landfills or as litter on the side of roads and on beaches! But that isn’t to say that there is no market out there for plastic bags.

The skinny on recycling plastic bags:

Many of you may already know that plastic bags do not belong in our curbside recycling. However, we are often asked why we can’t simply put plastic bags in our bins at home. The answer: recycling facilities are set up to separate rigid plastics from other recyclables- paper, aluminum cans, and glass. Current recycling machinery is just not set up to sort plastic bags and film; they would just get tangled in the equipment.

Although plastic bags cannot be placed in curbside recycling bins, they can be recycled. Many grocery stores collect plastic bags, usually placing bins near the front entrance of the store. In fact, many of these stores also take other types of plastic film, such as produce bags and plastic packaging film. Returned plastic bags are then sent to a recycling processor and are turned into different plastic products such as composite lumber, pallets, crates, and pipes.

plastic_bag_bins

If you need help finding a location to take your plastic bags, check out our handy recycling database, www.WasteFreeSD.org!

plastic_film_flyer

Throwing it Back for Kids’ Ocean Day 2014

Today’s blog post comes from aerial art aficionado and environmental educator extraordinaire Erika Bjorkquist. Erika-team

 

It’s that time of year again; we are rushing from school to school and getting gloves and bags ready for the annual Kids’ Ocean Day! This year, Kids’ Ocean Day will be celebrated in San Diego on June 5th at Crown Point Shores on Mission Bay. This event brings close to 1,000 elementary school students from low-income communities to the beach to participate in a beach cleanup and create a message about ocean conservation that can be seen from the sky (aka aerial art)!

In the past, messages have included  the words, “Listen” “Defend our Sea” “Coexist” and “Sustain Life”. This year, we put our spin on Ocean Literacy Principle #1 and our message will be “One CLEAN Ocean.” This is all part of a statewide program organized by the California Coastal Commission each year. Other cities participating include: Orange County, LA, San Francisco and Humboldt.

We will also be bringing back our first mascot, Pelican Pete, to represent a bird of the Pacific Flyway, and to help celebrate to our 60th anniversary.

Here is a sneak peek of what this year’s aerial art is shaping up to look like:

KAAB14_sketch

 

We may have taken a few creative liberties, but he still looks pretty similar to our pal Pelican Pete, who debuted in 1961.

Pelican Pete Says...
Pelican Pete Says…

 

Still can’t wrap your head around what it looks like when 1,000 students form a piece of artwork the size of a football field with just their bodies? Here’s a shot from a previous Kids’ Ocean Day event.

KAAB2012

 

While all of the schools and students have already been confirmed, we still need adult volunteers to help make this year’s event a success. Most volunteers don’t actual do the cleaning up, but instead supervise the youth as they clean up and help to arrange everyone in the aerial art formation. After the cleanup, volunteers and students will join together on the sand for the aerial art, which will be photographed from above in a helicopter!

We’re asking volunteers to meet us on site at 8AM, and the event will wrap up by 12. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact our Community Events Coordinator, Lexi Ambrogi at: lambrogi@cleansd.org and  619-704-2778.