Paper Bags Curbside Organics Curbside Recycling If the paper bag is clean, it can be recycled in your cubside recycling cart. If the paper bag is food soiled, it should be placed in the organics cart. Recycle Bags With Handles Paper bags can be recycled even if they have handles attached with adhesive. A small amount of adhesive will not contaminate paper recycling. If the handle is not made of paper, remove it before recycling the bag. Gift Bags Usually Not Recyclable Sometimes gift bags can be recycled, but if they have a glossy coating, they are most likely a mix of plastic and paper and cannot be recycled. Learn more about reusing, reducing and recycling gift bags. Ways to Reduce Bring Your Reusable Bags Skip paper bags altogether and bring your own reusable bags, which reduces how much you need to throw away or recycle. Ways to Reuse Reuse Paper Bags If your paper bag is still in good condition, try reusing them as many times as you can. Line Your Trash Can Instead of throwing your trash into a plastic bag, use a paper bag because they will actually break down in the landfill. Use As Wrapping Paper Paper bags can be cut up and used as wrapping paper for small gifts. Larger shopping bags can also be used as book covers. Did You Know? Paper Bags: Not as Eco-Friendly as They Seem Plastic bags have their problems but so do paper bags. Although paper bags do degrade much faster than plastic bags, it takes nearly double the resources to create a paper bag than one made out of plastic. That’s why reusable products are better than paper or plastic bags. How Paper Gets Recycled
