Plastic Bags Can't Be Recycled In Morris County

CHATHAM, NJ — Plastic bags of any kind cannot be recycled through township or county recycling programs because they can jam recycling machines, Morris County officials said Wednesday afternoon.

Improperly recycled plastic bags are a long standing problem in Morris County, and they cause the county's recycling system to shut down several times a day. They get tangled in rotating axles and wheels, and block the system from working.

“When the machines are silent, production stops and the receiving lines back up, resulting in a reduction in recycling processing efficiency, safety, and the value of recyclables, while labor costs go up,’’ said Municipal Utilities Authority Recycling Specialist Chris Vidal. “At times, plastic bags slip through the sorting process and wind up in the paper bales. Since plastic, obviously, is not paper, it is a major contaminant of paper bales and can lead to the paper being unmarketable and, therefore, not recycled.’’

The ban on plastic bags includes shopping bags, garbage bags, bread bags, newspaper bags, and any type of plastic film, like shrink wrap or the plastic around cases of water bottles.

The only exception? All shredded paper must be recycled within clear, plastic bags.

Plastic bags can be recycled at select super markets. Vidal also recommends stopping the problem early, by bringing reusable shopping bags on errands.

For more information on the county's recycling program, visit the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority’s website at www.MCMUA.com.

Image via velkr0, Flickr