No. Though some plastic bags can be recyclable, as of 2015 almost 90% of single use plastic bags, sacks, and wraps were never recycled.

Many of the companies that support recycling as a solution for the plastic waste problem continue to invest in plastic production, allowing the amount of plastic waste to grow. Consumer goods companies have put an undue burden to reduce plastic waste on consumers.

In the United States, six times more plastic waste is burned than recycled. This not only is a waste of the natural resources that polyethylene plastic bags are made of, but even highly regulated landfills and incinerators could pose human health and environmental justice concerns.

Recycling can be one small part of the solution, but the real need is to significantly reduce single-use plastic waste so it never has to be disposed of.

 

• Plastic bag waste increases public maintenance and cleanup costs. Water and sewer systems run more smoothly without plastic bags clogging storm drains and discharging into our waterways.
• Each stage of the plastic lifecycle poses significant risks to human health. Plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to break down in a landfill, but they never fully decompose. Instead, they degrade into microplastics and leech toxic chemicals that contaminate our water and air.
• Lake Erie, the smallest Great Lake, has one of the highest concentrations of microplastics in the world.
• Plastic bag waste threatens our natural ecosystems and the health of our native biodiversity.

At least 127 countries and 349 jurisdictions have regulations on plastic bags.

Explore an interactive map of single-use plastic bag reduction policies in the United States.