Plastic Bags are Trash

Source: Santa Barbara County Public Works Department

In all jurisdictions across Santa Barbara County, plastic bags and film plastics, such as plastic wrapping, saran wrap, or small plastic pouches, are not recyclable. Please do not place these items in your blue recycling container at home or at work.
 
For over five years, there have been no markets for plastic bags mixed in with commingled recyclables. Although some large supermarkets can take back reusable plastic bags they give out, they are also limited by what they can recycle by a lack of a market for other types of film plastic.
 
Plastic bags in your blue recycling container are also problematic because they tangle up with other materials. Plastic bags are inherently difficult to keep free of contaminants and to pull out of the recycling without snagging something else along with them. It is because of these properties that they are the biggest cause of contaminants in our commingled recycling.
 
The County and all of the cities within the county encourage the public to bring reusable bags to the store and utilize durable containers when possible in order to reduce the amount of waste we produce as a community.
 
For more information on reducing, re-using, and recycling your waste visit www.LessIsMore.org