LDPE and LLDPE plastic bags, sheeting and tubing are one of the most commonly and easily recycled finished products to recycle. Once recycled, they can be made into a variety of products, including agricultural/construction (a.k.a. C&A) films and trash bags.

The recycled products resulting from such recycling are very important in their respective industries, but they can’t be sold competitively by using virgin (never recycled or extruded) raw materials. This is the best solution to avoiding the negative impact of these products as landfill or loose refuse.

The only exceptions to these products being recyclable are those that have been contaminated by food, chemicals or similar items that would make processing difficult to impossible. These are a relatively small percentage of the total number of pound of these products that make their way into the marketplace.

What Can I do to Contribute?

As an individual or family, you can set up a separate dispenser for disposal of these products that will not be mixed with your regular refuse. Most municipalities are now set up to move these items to the appropriate reprocessor(s) in or near where you live.

Companies can act similarly with training of personnel to recognize LDPE and LLDPE and provision of a specific location for disposal, usually one of a variety of recyclable products used in a specific plant, warehouse or office.

Individually, our impact may seem small, but cumulatively we recycle millions of pounds every year into functional, quality products. In many cases, a local recycler who converts these materials into finished products will pick them up and even pay a price per pound of product they can use.

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