That’s a lot of bags.  More than a billion per day.

Did you know that the average Californian uses 550 plastic bags per year?

An estimated 12 million barrels of oil are spent on America’s annual consumption of plastic bags.

Did you know that less than 1% of plastic bags worldwide are recycled? 

Fortunately, you can recycle plastic bags in Monterey by taking them back to the store or collecting and bagging them into one bag, tying the top and placing it into the blue recycling carts.  No loose bags in the recycle carts.

Did you know paper bags are as much of a resource drain as plastic bags? 

However, paper bags are made of recycled paper content and biodegrades quickly, while plastic bags have limited recyclability and hang around for a long time.

Plastic bags consumed this year:

You can cut back on this waste by using reusable bags everytime you go to the store!  It saves natural resources and petroleum while saving YOU money.  Some stores offer a $0.05 bag rebate, prizes, discounts, or other incentives for using a reusable bag.

One of the greatest myths is that plastic bags are FREE!  In fact, businesses, consumers, and taxpayers all pay a price to consume these products and clean up the litter left behind on our streets and watersheds.  Additionally, our throw-away style of consumption negatively affects large swaths of ocean habitat and global communities that feed our consumption.  Learn more about the growing problem of plastics in the ocean.

Join the Buy Local Monterey campaign and support local businesses that support the local community!  Look for our booth at events and pick up your FREE “Buy Local Monterey” reusable shopping bag.

Also, see the Keep California Beautiful campaign for more about bags and litter.

Recycle your plastic bags at Home!

Remember that plastic bags are recyclable in the city of Monterey!  Stuff all your clean and dry filmy plastic shopping bags, ziplock bags, shrink wrap and bubble wrap into one bag and tie at the top.

(For other jurisdictions, check with your local recycling company about specific rules.)