Officials: Plastic bags are smothering Mother Earth

CHICKASAW - For many people, plastic shopping bags end up in "the pile."

If "the pile" sounds ominous, that's because it usually is. It's the ubiquitous pile of plastic bags that residesunder sinks and inside pantries, ready to fight back any time a door needs shut or a cabinet needs closed.

While useful for cleaning litter boxes, lining wastebaskets or containing trash in a car, they tend to pile up faster than they can be used. And with many grocery stores prohibiting the use of reusable grocery bags due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pile may have transformed into a mountain.

For those looking to pare down their pile on Earth Day today, there are a few ways to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic shopping bags.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, a not-for-profit environmental organization, the average American family takes home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year.

Each year, Americans use and dispose of more than 380 billion plastic shopping bags, and an estimated 12 million barrels of oil are needed to manufacture that amount, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

While many plastics can be recycled, the NRDC says a whopping 91% of all plastic isn't recycled at all and ends up in landfills or the environment. Worse, plastic doesn't break down - it just breaks up.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says microplastics are microscopic pieces of debris, less than five millimeters in length, or about the size of a sesame seed.

Over time, sunlight and heat slowly turn plastics into smaller and smaller pieces until they eventually become microplastics. These tiny particles easily pass through water filtration systems and end up in the ocean and Great Lakes, posing a potential threat to aquatic life, information from NOAA says.

So what is one to do with the dreaded plastic bag pile? One simple step is to recycle them. According to the EPA, recycled plastics can be made into bottles, carpet, textiles, paper coating and even clothes.

Every day is Earth Day at Ohio Recycling, Inc. in Chickasaw, according to co-owners Rose and Ron Lochtefeld.

The recycling center handles the county's recycling and accepts most recyclable materials except styrofoam, which Ron Lochtefeld said is economically unfeasible for the family-owned business.

People can drop off their household recycling 24/7, including plastic shopping bags. The center asks individuals to place multiple plastic bags inside one bag and tie the top shut. Placing multiple bags into one bag and tying it together can prevent the wind from picking up loose bags and carrying them away, Ron Lochtefeld said.

"The drop off area (is) clearly labeled and accessible 24/7, which really does allow for Earth Day every day in Chickasaw," Rose Lochtefeld said.

Mercer County Health Department environmental health director Michelle Kimmel advised to make sure bags are clean before returning them. Wash the bags with soap and warm water and let them air dry, she said.

Several retail locations such as Walmart, Kroger and Kohl's also accept plastic shopping bags. To find a plastic bag drop-off location, visit plasticfilmrecycling.org, click "Find a Drop Off Location" and enter the desired ZIP code.

County residents looking to recycle need to follow the two-bag system, which can ease the workload for Lochtefeld's employees who have to sort through the materials.

Recyclables need to be sorted into two separate bags, one for fibers and another for containers. Fibers include newspapers, catalogs, magazines, junk mail, office paper, food boxes, paper egg cartons and cardboard. All paper products need to be free of food contaminants, Rose Lochtefeld said, so no greasy pizza boxes.

The other bag is for containers, such as aluminum cans, foil and pie pans; rinsed tin cans; rinsed No. 1 and No. 2 plastics in three gallon containers or less; Christmas lights and small appliances; rinsed glass bottles and jars; and shopping bags. Window glass, Pyrex, ceramics, lightbulbs or other treated glass are not acceptable.

For those looking to go beyond just recycling, Kimmel said people can take other steps. Reducing plastic use by utilizing reusable shopping bags and water bottles is a good start, and people can even purchase plastic-free beauty and hygiene items such as shampoo and body wash to lessen plastic use, she said.

"Zero waste isn't for everyone," Kimmel said. "But do the right thing. People need to take responsibility for their impact on the Earth. There are lots of ways people can do their part."

If people want to keep some plastic bags on hand, people can take steps to decrease the amount of space the bags take up. They can be folded into triangles and online tutorials show how to store plastic bags in tissue boxes or in used cleaning wipe containers.

Plastic bags can be reused multiple ways. They can be wadded together to keep the shape of purses and shoes; keep paint brushes and rollers fresh; prevent ice on car side mirrors and windshield wipers; or placed on plants to protect from frost.

For more information on Earth Day and how to reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose, visit https://www.epa.gov/earthday or earthday.org.