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the public. People think these bags are a be best if when people took their plastic of disposable bags. Throughout the rest
plastic and just like bottles, so they put bags back to the store, they would swap of the U.S. there have been attempts to
them in the can with everything else.” them out for reusable bags, but this isn’t institute statewide plastic bag bans, but
Part of this education is making sure happening as much as we would like,” says nothing has been completely successful.
residents know where they can take Sharon Smith, Special Projects Manager at In most states, individual counties have
plastic bags to be recycled. One of the Metro Nashville Public Works. enacted their own bans, since the state
main sources of plastic bag recycling is has not. Currently, Tennessee has no laws
grocery stores, such as Kroger, Walmart, If convenience is what it would take banning plastic bags or preventing any
and Target. These stores and others like to keep plastic bags out of the sorting counties from doing so themselves.
them work with recycling companies to machinery, then more options are needed
make sure the plastic bags are repurposed. in the community. “There are several These bans and fees have not only
Trex Company, Inc. works with stores convenience centers available to the come from the problems plastic bags
throughout the U.S. to collect recyclables, public in most Tennessee counties. These have caused the recycling industry,
including plastic bags. In Tennessee, they locations could be a good opportunity but also from the impact they have on
work with Bi-Lo, Food Lion, Ingles, Food to offer collection points for plastic bags, the environment. Recent studies have
City, Merchants Distributors, and Target. separate from the other plastic bottles and shown that they are one of the main litter
If residents are not sure where they can containers, if a viable plastic bag recycling contributors to land and trees. As for
take their plastic bags to recycle them, contractor is available in the area,” says waterways, there are about 46,000 pieces
there is a website where they can search Zach Johnson, Recycling Coordinator for of floating plastic per square mile of
for locations near them, called www. Knox County. Making more venues for ocean, all around the globe. One reason
abagslife.com. Anyone can search by zip the plastic bags to be recycled lowers the for the complexity of these bags is that
code and mile radius to find a location chance of them ending up in the sorting they have a short-term use cycle, but a
that accepts the plastic bags. machines, thereby decreasing the amount lifetime of up to 1000 years before they
of recyclables being contaminated. fully decompose.
With resources such as these readily
available, why do plastic bags continue Some states have taken the initiative It’s time to ask ourselves if these bags
to be such a big problem in the recycling toward a ban. In July 2015, California are worth the hassle. From the time they
stream? Is it convenience or a lack of enacted a plastic bag ban and prohibited are used until the time they decompose
knowledge in the community? “If you large stores from providing a single-use they have the potential to pollute our
think about it, most people go to the plastic bag, with some exceptions which waterways, litter our land, clog and break
grocery store weekly, where plastic bag includes fees and several other conditions. machinery, endanger animals, and take up
recycling is readily accessible. It would In Washington D.C., plastic bags are room in our landfills. Is the convenience
banned and there are fees on other types worth clogging the system?
View online at tnpublicworks.com 21
