In its quest to make Ziploc® brand bags recyclable from curbside bins, and avoid millions of pounds of plastic from ending up in landfills, SC Johnson has reached a milestone in that effort – successfully converting flexible film that includes grocery store and Ziploc brand bags collected from curbside bins into full-size garbage bags.
Developing a way to reuse Ziploc bags is a key step in the process to make recycling available at the curb, along with other types of plastic film. While 18,000 plus commercial stores currently accept Ziploc bags for recycling, those efforts only amount to about 0.2 percent of Ziploc bags sold being recycled. Finding a way to allow Ziploc bags to be collected curbside and then recycled will make the practice more convenient and boost recycling numbers, as only about one-third of U.S. residents currently recycle.
“For decades we have worked to lighten our environmental footprint,” said Fisk Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of SC Johnson. “It’s who we are. It’s how we operate. And, recycling Ziploc bags is just one more example.”
The search took the company to Europe. Unlike the U.S., Europe has the equipment needed to wash soiled plastic film to prepare it for reuse and recycling. After converting the rinsed plastic film into pellets, another European company melted down the pellets and converted them into garbage bags. SC Johnson is currently testing the same process in the U.S. with a recycling facility and garbage bag manufacturer. It is also looking into other uses for the material – such as pallets and construction beams. SC Johnson has no plans to mass produce or sell garbage bags made from recycled Ziploc bags, although it will sell limited quantities on its Green Choices website by the end of the year.
For years Ziploc bags have been collected and recycled at commercial stores, along with other plastic bags. But those bags are clean. Ziploc bags and other plastic film tossed in the recycling bin pick up dirt and other grime, reducing its value for reuse. Most recycling facilities in the U.S. “hand-pick” the Ziploc bags out of the recycling stream and send them to the landfill.
Published in the August 2017 Edition of American Recycler News