Ocean County Government
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Department of Solid Waste Management

Plastic Bags



"Recycle Plastic Bags At Supermarkets, Not In Your Household Recycling Bins"

Some local schools are collecting plastic bags and film for the TREX Recycling Challenge. Bring clean and dry bags (plastic film) to participating schools and help them win a beautiful bench made of recycled material!
"Click here to see a list of acceptable materials"

PLASTIC BAGS are NOT recyclable through Ocean County's recycling program and should NOT be placed with your single stream recyclables. Bags wrap around screens and machinery damaging the equipment. This makes the sorting process slower, and a waste of resources, due to the clean up and repair that the facility goes through because of the bags and plastic film.PLEASE DO NOT BAG YOUR RECYCLABLES OR PLACE ANY PLASTIC BAGS OR FILM IN WITH YOUR RECYCLING BIN.

Many grocery stores (including Stop & Shop and ShopRite) and "big box" stores (including Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe's, Home Depot, Kohls, and Sam's Club) have programs for plastic bag recycling, and will typically have a drop off box for plastic bags near main entrances or by customer service.

Where do I recycle plastic bags and wraps?

Consider bringing reusable bags with you when grocery shopping in order to reduce or eliminate your need for single use bags.