As our local area begins the process of reopening, people have been wondering about how best to deal with the plastic bags and other stretchy plastic film that they have been storing.  Summit Area Green Faith Circle suspended the Bags to Benches Plastic Film recycling program when ACME closed its depot, which was the way station on the path to Trex, in Virginia, the company that reprocesses plastic film to make decking and outdoor furniture.  Trex is still accepting “stretch” plastic, and there are two locations nearby where you can  drop yours off, both in Vauxhaul.  Whole Foods has a receptacle inside the store, and Home Depot has a receptacle in the “Returns” area. In addition, ShopRite accepts plastic bags, but is not part of the Trex supply chain.  

Do you know what happens to plastic that goes into the trash?

In Union, Essex, and Camden Counties, municipal waste is burned at an Energy from Waste (EfW) facility operated by COVANTA. Over the years, the EfW process has evolved to meet strict standards for air pollution, metals recovery, and ash disposal. And EfW generates electricity for the local neighborhood.   “According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly one ton of greenhouse gas emissions are avoided for every ton of municipal solid waste processed at an EfW facility.”  While the EfW process has gotten much cleaner, trucking municipal waste into the EfW facility produces diesel-generated particulate air pollution that impacts the health of residents, especially in Newark’s Iron Bound, Rahway, and Linden.

In the larger framework, you can probably think of ways that your plastic bags can be re-used.  Also, there are a growing number of alternatives to single-use plastic. So, save yourself the fuss of recycling, by prioritizing “refuse, reuse, and reduce.”

Marian Glenn is Professor Emerita of Biology at Seton Hall University.  Her home in Summit, New Jersey is heated and cooled with a geothermal heat exchange system powered by solar energy from the roof. She replaced much of her lawn with a native plant garden that hosts a hive of honey bees .