Report evaluates plastic bag recycling programs at retail locations

A study released by ABC News has led to some skepticism around plastic bag recycling programs at retail locations.

According to the report, ABC News collaborated with nine ABC-owned TV stations to place 46 trackers on plastic bag bundles that were deposited at Walmart and Target locations for recycling in 10 states. Trackers were super glued and wrapped inside multiple layers of clean plastic bags. ABC News reports its team monitored each tracker’s location multiple times a day for months, and trackers pinged whenever they were near a compatible digital or mobile device.

The report says one of the first trackers to move was a bag bundle deployed at a Target store in Kingston, New York, in December 2022. ABC News says the bags ended up a week later inside the Seneca Meadows Landfill in Waterloo, New York and later a tracker dropped off at a New York Walmart eventually pinged in Indonesia. Other trackers dropped off at Walmart locations in Florida and Kansas pinged in Malaysia. Of the 46 trackers, most of the bags had not ended up at locations associated with plastic bag recycling, with many ending up in landfills.

Despite the findings, several industry trade groups have noted plastic bag recycling programs are essential to achieving a circular economy.

“America’s plastic makers are investing billions of dollars in new recycling technologies and creating products that are more recyclable, durable and dependable,” says Joshua Baca, vice president of plastics at the Washington-based American Chemistry Council. “Our goal is to make the planet cleaner and healthier for generations to come. Our world will only get to a sustainable circular economy by collaborating and coming together to achieve the economies of scale necessary to convert what today is waste into new products. This cannot be accomplished unless we are willing to engage in open dialogue and listen to both concerns and solutions. ACC remains committed to providing real solutions that will reduce plastic waste.”

According to the Washington-based Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), store drop-off programs across the United States serve as an important part of recycling for film and bags. The APR tells Recycling Today there is strong demand for this material, which can be recycled into new bags and film, as well as durable products such as composite lumber, containers and pallets. In 2021, more than 1 billion pounds of bags and film plastics were collected for recycling.

Additionally, a spokesperson for the Washington-based Plastics Industry Association tells Recycling Today a visit to a plastic recycling facility would reveal that recycling is real and contamination gets sent to landfills.

“Across the board, America needs to invest in recycling infrastructure to better collect, sort and process recyclable materials, including plastic films," the spokesperson says. "The ABC News story was about where contaminants, such as metal tracking devices, when commingled with recyclable material end up, not a story about plastic film recycling. Research shows that plastic film recycling, including material collected through retailer-led programs, continues to grow, helping manufacturers reduce their reliance on virgin resins. The conclusions implied by the ABC story are irresponsible and reinforce the misleading claims of activists that if left unchecked will drive more recyclable material into landfills, not less.”

According to the spokesperson, the association also offers information about film recycling in its 2021 Plastic Recycling Report.