Recycle Your Plastic Bags

Source: Heal the Ocean

COVID-19 forced grocery stores and other markets to use single-use plastic bags to reduce the spread of the virus to store workers handling personal reusable bags. As a result, tons of single-use plastic bags have gone out of stores and into the waste stream.

GOOD NEWS! There are stores that have reinstalled plastic bag bins, where you can take your bags, for recycling. Heal the Ocean researched, and called, to verify that the following stores have instated their recycling bins/programs for your single-use plastic bags! Please patronize these stores, and use their bins:

• Ralphs Grocery Store at 5170 Hollister Ave. Goleta, 93117 (Bag bin located outside the store)
• Albertsons Grocery Store at 5801 Calle Real, Goleta, 93117 (Bag bin located outside the store)

Here is the most significant way to keep plastic bags out of the environment during COVID-19 – go back to using your reusable bags, as follows:

• Under COVID regulations, store workers can’t handle your reusable bags, but you can!
• Put your reusable bags into the bottom of your cart, (or not), put all your groceries on top of them.
• Go out of the store, and bag your groceries yourself with the bags from your cart or the ones you keep in your car. 

This simple tip will have you back in business with your reusable bags!

Meanwhile, please take any plastic bags you have acquired to the stores with recycling bins.

We thank these stores, one and all – and all of you, too — for doing your part! 

Update: More Places to Recycle Plastic Bags

Heal the Ocean recently put out a notice that plastic bags are again being collected at certain stores for recycling, and we’ve received a great response from supporters wanting to help. We have also learned of additional locations where plastic bags can be recycled, added here:

• Vons Grocery Store at 1040 Coast Village Road, Montecito, CA 93108 (Bag bin located outside the store)
• Ralphs Grocery Store at 5170 Hollister Ave. Goleta, 93117 (Bag bin located outside the store)
• Albertsons Grocery Store at 5801 Calle Real, Goleta, 93117 (Bag bin located outside the store)

Update:  Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners – 14 W. Gutierrez St., Santa Barbara, 93101 – has updated its film plastic recycling program during COVID. Please e-mail Ablitt’s at sales@ablitts.com to be put on their Recycling Invitation List and you will be contacted for a time to come in with your recyclables. If you have Facebook access, you can check the Ablitt’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Ablitts/ then email sales@ablitt.com to reserve your spot. (Note: apologies to our supporters for previous, incorrect information).

Ablitt’s takes almost everything – film plastics, bubble wrap, deflated air pillows, bread & product wrappers (clean), and other items– but because of COVID, they require the sorting to be right, which means supervision at the recycling site. Remember to park across the street on Gutierrez and walk to the recycling area behind the cleaning establishment.

ALSO: Both the Community Environmental Council and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper are accepting film plastics by appointment at their respective offices. They, too, require an appointment, to ensure that the film plastic is clean and non-contaminated.

Please e-mail or call to schedule an appointment in advance:

• Community Environmental Council (CEC): 
  • Please call Kathi King at 805-689-2075 or email kking@cecmail.org if you want to schedule a drop-off.
• Santa Barbara Channelkeeper:
  • Please email Penny@sbck.org if you would like to schedule a drop-off.