That goes for all of us: the plastic shopping bags you get at restaurants and stores. The plastic bags for buying fruits and vegetables and the kind that zip-lock closed. Cling wrap and the packaging around your toilet paper and paper towels. None of us belong in your recycling bin.

Plastic bags and plastic wrap like us create big problems. We can end up as litter, impacting the environment. We also jam up the machines that sort recycling. Basically, we are trouble.

So the next time you're recycling at home or at work, don't recycle us. It's much better to throw us in the trash. It may feel wrong, but you’re protecting the environment by keeping us out of your recycling bin.

Sincerely,

Plastic bags and plastic wrap

You can't recycle plastic bags and plastic wrap at home or work. But you can:

• Switch to items like reusable bags that can be used for years.

• Reuse plastic bags of any kind. If you reuse bags even once, you’ll end up using half as many.

• Keep reusable bags where you know they’ll get used, like your car or your kitchen.

• Find creative uses for your bags. For example, they can be trash bags in small trash cans or makeshift gloves for cleaning the house or handling messy things.

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