This blog is sponsored in partnership with Perfect Packaging and The Flexible Packaging Association.
I am a sucker for sustainable living tips and tricks, and I have to share this one with you guys. I am fortunate enough to live in a city where we offer curbside recycling, which is SO helpful in reducing the amount of trash and waste we throw away. The downside to our curbside recycling is that we CAN NOT add our plastic film or plastic bags into our containers.
Rather than simply tossing the plastic in the trash, I have developed an easy system to recycle this plastic waste that I’m going to teach you as well. Perfect Packaging’s mission aims to do a few things – let you know where you can recycle items and what plastic items you can recycle. Plastic film can be reused to create new bags, pallets, pipes, and more. Not only that, there are benches, playground equipment, and deck materials that also use recycled plastic film.
Let’s talk just a little bit more about Perfect Packaging. Not all packaging is made equal, and flexible packaging has a smaller environmental impact, extends product freshness and shelf life, around 50% can be recycled, and provides much-needed convenience for the consumer. All of these coupled together make for better products but still leave the need to recycle the packaging to see the greatest benefit. Lucky for you, I have this easy process that I follow that allows me to recycle plastic packaging like Perfect Packaging.
So how do I make this as simple as possible? When I get bags from grocery delivery, packaging or wrap from packages that I get in the mail, or opening up items that use plastic films and wrap, I simply grab another bag and fill it completely up. This part drives my husband a little crazy but next, I toss the bags in a corner of my garage that I walk by literally every day so I always see it. Once I get a pile-up of a few stuffed bags–full of plastic film/bags, then I grab them and head to my closest plastic bag recycling point. I know, I know –I’m totally “that wife” but it definitely works for me! Plus when there is a nice pile of bags that gets moved to my car, it takes up enough space that I go drop them off for recycling right away because I don’t want my car full of plastic bag bundles!
If you don’t know where the closest recycling place for plastic bags is for you, you will want to bookmark this link: https://bagandfilmrecycling.org/. All you have to do is type in your zip code and it will locate one for you.
Sustainable living doesn’t have to be complicated, and it doesn’t require you to go out of your way much at all. Small actions and habits, like collecting plastic film, packaging, and bags add up to big sustainable efforts when everyone pitches in.
Plastic film can be upcycled and reused in a variety of ways, so whether you are looking to give back in a meaningful way, or already a sustainable junkie like me, help reduce your waste and recycle the items that you can!
Know of someone who enjoys making environmentally friendly choices? Send them the link so they can start pitching in and recycling their plastic film items, taking them from single-use to upcycled products!
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about flexible packaging – check this video out.
You can also see my process for recycling here on my Instagram!
