As the holidays approach and trips to stores increase, the pesky plastic shopping bags can start to pile up. Many people just put them in the blue curbside recycling bin. Plastic is plastic right? Nope. Not only do they not get recycled they can get stuck in the recycling machinery and jam things up.
You can probably guess how bad these things are for the environment. If not, here’s a reminder. Also, there’s the ongoing debate over whether they should be banned or taxed.
So what to do? The easiest solution is to carry a reusable shopping bag. But if that’s not your style or you always forget yours, you might be able to return plastic bags to nearby grocery stores. Here are a few places where you can turn the bags in:
• Fresh Grocer at 40th & Walnut, in the lobby near the elevators.
• Whole Foods on Callowhill.
• Shoprite at Parkwest Town Center, near 52nd and Parkside.
Are there other places that you know of? Please leave a comment and we will compile an ongoing list.
December 4th, 2014 at 11:35 am
Reuse them. I line my smaller trash cans (like in the bathroom).
December 4th, 2014 at 1:44 pm
Sporrite at Parktown West removed their plastic bag recycling container, and now have a recycling bin with a small round hole that seems to be for regular mixed city recycling.
Giant in Lansdowne on Baltimore Pike, Fresh Grocer at 56th & Chestnut.
In the Spring, the Greensgrow garden supply was taking plastic bags to reuse.
Re: just reusing plastic bags. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure you can recycle other soft plastics as well. Plastic shrink wrap, popped air packing materials, etc.
December 4th, 2014 at 8:55 pm
Shoprite at 24th and Oregon. They are also good to use as packing material.
December 5th, 2014 at 1:07 am
Go to the movies and get a bucket of popcorn. Take the bucket home. It’s the perfect size to hold those bags for when you scoop your cat’s litter box. Because they often have a small hole in the bottom, I’ve taken to using two at a time, nested.
December 5th, 2014 at 5:16 pm
Rite-Aid on 23rd & Walnut has a bin near the entrance.
December 14th, 2014 at 12:51 pm
South Square Market, 22nd (23rd?) & South.
December 14th, 2014 at 4:27 pm
Any in W.Philly?
September 4th, 2015 at 1:59 pm
Mark,
I wonder why your popcorn box has a hole in the bottom of it. That’s the oldest trick in the book.
September 5th, 2015 at 4:04 am
Oh, I was ambiguous. The bags, not the bucket! (I’ve heard of the truck but never done it.)
March 30th, 2016 at 5:14 pm
I did not see a grocery bag recycle bin at the Fresh Grocer at 40th & Walnut.
Staples discontinued plastic bag recycling.
Are there other current options in University City or Center City?
March 31st, 2016 at 4:59 pm
There are boxes in the lobby of the CVS closest to 40th st (40th and Walnut)