What really happens to that plastic bag you recycled at the grocery store?

A recent investigation by a local news channel uncovered some disturbing evidence.

Photo bykanvag/Depositphotos.com

(CHICAGO) Grocery stores such as Meijer, Jewel-Osco, Target, and Walmart offer customers a recycling bag program. Customers can drop off used plastic bags in large bins at the front of the store.

It takes just a bit of extra time to hold on to your plastic bags rather than trash them, keep them stored somewhere, and then remember to drop them off the next time you go shopping.

However, for people hoping to reduce plastic waste, it can give you peace of mind to think you are doing something to help the planet.

Unfortunately, a recent investigation by ABC News across the country revealed, your effort to recycle plastic bags may be for nothing.

What happens to plastic bags that get dropped into recycling bins?

An article on ABC7 Chicago News detailed an investigation into exactly where plastic bags end up after getting dropped off in those bins at the front of stores. According to ABC, "The I-Team, ABC News, and ABC stations across the country assembled 46 bundles of recyclable plastic bags. Each contained a tracking device."

What were the results of the investigation?

The 46 bags with tracking devices were dropped off at Walmart and Target stores around the country. Four of them were dropped off in the Chicago area. Here are where the four Chicago bags ended up:

• A bag dropped off at River North Target ended up in a landfill in Wilmington that has no plastic bag recycling program.
• A bag dropped off at Target on Chicago's southwest side ended up at a Waste Management facility in Cicero with no plastic bag recycling program.
• A bag dropped off at Walmart in suburban Elmhurst ended up at a landfill near Atkinson, Illinois with no plastic bag recycling program.
• A bag dropped off at north suburban Gurnee Walmart was tracked to an industrial park in Elk Grove Village. This facility does recycle plastic bags!

What happened to the 46 trackers?

In Chicago, one out of three bags may have been recycled, but what happened nationally?

Out of the 46 trackers, here are the results:

• Twenty-three were tracked to landfills or trash incinerators
• Seven were tracked to transfer stations that don't recycle or sort plastic bags.
• Six trackers stopped pinging at the store they were dropped off.
• Three ended up in Southeast Asia.
• Four bags with trackers ended up in facilities that DO recycle plastic bags.

Can you recycle plastic bags at home?

No, they are not accepted in home recycling programs. According to Chicago.gov, loose plastic shopping bags are NOT accepted by the Blue Cart Program & Recycling Drop-off Centers and should be brought back to "retailers for recycling."

What to do with plastic bags?

Each year around 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. According to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, 22 million pounds of plastic ends up in the Great Lakes every year.

Unlike other materials, recycling plastic has been problematic. This is why the Shedd Aquarium is working to educate the public on switching to reusables rather than single-use plastic.

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For more information, read the full investigation, "Does plastic bag recycling from stores like Target, Walmart work or still end up in a landfill?" here.

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