Bag It! – You can recycle plastic bags at many major grocery store chains. Remember to include your grocery and retail bags, newspaper bags, dry cleaning bags, and wraps from bread, bathroom tissue, paper towels, beverage cases, diapers and baby wipes.

Snip the Zip – Sealable plastic food storage and freezer bags can be recycled at the same major grocery stores that collect plastic bags. Remember to remove the sealing mechanism or zipper and be sure bags are clean (no food remnants) and dry.

Containers, Cups and Lids – More and more communities are recycling plastic containers in addition to bottles. Check your community’s website or with your local grocer to see if they collect yogurt cups, butter tubs, deli-containers, lids and other plastics.

How? Buying products made from recycled materials is one way we can help “close the loop” or complete the recycling circle to help reduce waste across the globe.

By not only separating cans, bottles and other items for recycling, but also purposefully looking for consumer products made from recycled materials, we can help make a difference on America Recycles Day… and every day of the year!

For example, plastic containers, bags and film are collected in many communities across the country and then given a second life as carpeting, furniture, backyard decking, new bottles and bags and other products we use every day. Some of us may even be wearing these recycled plastics!

Did you Know?

• More than 2.4 billion pounds of plastic bottles were recycled in 2008.
• Of the 832 million pounds of bags and film recycled in 2008, more than 300 million pounds were used to make durable plastic/wood composite decking products for our backyards.
• The newest trend in fashion is recycled plastic! From runway couture to everyday T-shirts, fashion designers are finding innovative ways to create new designs made from recycled plastic bottles.
• International soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho will take to the field in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa each wearing a jersey made from about eight recycled plastic bottles.
• There are even men’s suits made from recycled plastics – the EcoGir Recycled Suit uses material made from 30 plastic water bottles.
• Freshly minted graduates are striding across the stage this year in caps and gowns made from recycled plastic bottles thanks to GreenWeaver , a new line of academic apparel that uses fabric spun from 100 percent post-consumer plastics.

Any idea what happens to all that plastic we recycle? Sure, plastic bags can be made into new bags and plastic bottles into new bottles. But plastics also can be recycled into long-lasting products.

For example, your feet may be resting on former plastic water or soda bottles. Most carpeting is made from plastic fibers such as nylon, polypropylene or polyester. In recent years, manufacturers have been able to create carpet fiber from recycled plastics, such as the plastic used to make beverage bottles. It takes approximately 50 two-liter bottles to create one square yard of carpet fiber.

Like “virgin” plastics, the recycled plastic fibers often are more stain-resistant and color-fast than materials such as wool, and manufacturing carpeting using recycled plastics produces fewer emissions than using virgin plastics.

But let’s face it – no matter how great the carpeting, it’s not going to last forever. Approximately five billion pounds of carpeting are replaced each year in the U.S. Because carpeting often has a complicated structure made of several materials, it can be difficult and expensive to recycle. However, organizations like Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) are working with manufacturers to make recycling carpeting easier and more accessible for consumers. CARE has set a goal of diverting forty percent of carpeting waste from landfills by 2012.

Recovered carpeting can be made into building products such as composite lumber, roofing shingles and carpeting cushion, just to name a few. Just think – your well-used living room carpeting could become your new backyard deck!

Recycling everyday items such as plastic bottles and household products such as carpeting can help give these plastics a second life. Or a third. Or …

Visit www.carpetrecovery.org for more information on how to recycle your carpeting.

Innovative uses of recycled plastics are multiplying. In the not-too-distant future, the plastic water bottle you recycle one day may show up in your next car. One of Hyundai’s latest concept cars is a crossover coup vehicle called the QarmaQ. A key feature in the QarmaQ is its innovative use of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles to create a large portion of the vehicle’s skin. According to GE, the use of plastics, instead of more traditional metal and glass, reduces the weight of the vehicle by 130 pounds. That weight loss translates to 20 gallons in annual fuel savings.

Car seat upholstery also can be made from recycled plastic. And a lot more of the plastics used in today’s cars are being recovered and recycled at the end of the vehicle’s useful life.

Less obvious uses of recycled plastics include the materials that make our homes comfortable and attractive. Mohawk, a leading U.S. carpet manufacturer, recycles nearly three billion plastic bottles each year. Plastic bottles are sorted, ground into fine chips, and then cleaned. These chips are then melted and extruded into fiber and spun into carpet yarn.

If recycled plastic is not on your floor, it may be in your back yard. Composite lumber made from recycled plastic and sawdust is extremely durable and requires very little maintenance. For these reasons and its design capabilities, composite lumber is often a favorite for building decks and fences.

For example, Trex® decking, railing and fencing has all the natural beauty of wood, but doesn’t rot or splinter the way wood can. Trex® composite lumber helps keep about 300,000 tons of plastic and wood scrap out of landfills every year – that results in approximately 600,000,000 pounds annually. And no trees have to be cut to make this innovative decking material. Trex® wood is reclaimed from woodworking operations, used pallets and sawdust to the tune of 300 million pounds a year.

More surprising still, you may be wearing recycled plastic. From high fashion runways to bargain basement stores, “Plastic is the new Black”. Warm fleece jackets, trendy shoes and everyday t-shirts are now being made from fibers spun from recycled plastics. H&M is featuring recycled plastics as part of its line of environmentally friendly fashions. Sears is offering men’s suits made from recycled plastic bottles and faux fur, sequins and sky-high heels made possible by plastics are gracing the runways at fashion events from Los Angeles to New York. (To see more cutting-edge concepts plastics fashions, be sure to check out entries to the Plastics Make it PossibleSM and Gen Art design contest.

Remember that it’s easy to be part recycling movement year round. For tips on how to recycle more of the plastics you use, see Plastics Make it Possible’s How to Guide for Recycling Plastics.

“It’s encouraging to see that more and more Americans are making an effort to recycle at home, but there is still a huge opportunity to educate and motivate the remaining third who don’t,” said Steve Russell, vice president, Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council. “Many plastics can be easily recycled in most communities and given a second life as carpet, clothing, furniture, backyard decks, new bottles and bags, and other products we use every day. By making it a practice to recycle, people can help make a difference on America Recycles Day and every day of the year.”

So just where do the plastic bottles you throw in the recycling bin and the plastic bags you take back to the grocery store end up? Though recycled plastics might be out-of-mind as soon as they are placed in a recycling bin, they are far from out-of-sight. Most people use “second life” plastics in their homes or cars everyday – and many of us may even be wearing them! According to the survey, eighty-two percent of Americans know that recycled plastic water bottles can be used to make a variety of items such as lumber for homes and decks, car bumpers, life jackets, sails for boats, rope and even fashionable t-shirts.

To encourage consumers to recycle more, Plastics Make it PossibleSM provides the following tips for reusing and recycling everyday plastics.

1. Find out which plastics are accepted for recycling in your community and where they can be taken. Though recycling options vary, most community curbside programs collect plastic bottles and many grocery and retail chains now offer bins to collect used plastic bags and wraps for recycling. An increasing number of communities are also collecting rigid containers like yogurt and butter tubs.

2. Know what to recycle with your bottles. A “bottle” is any container with a neck or opening that’s smaller than its base and includes milk jugs; beverage containers; bottles

from salad dressing, oil and other condiments; food jars for items like peanut butter and mayonnaise; and bottles from shampoo, toiletries, laundry detergent and household cleaners.

3. Know what to recycle with your bags at grocery stores. When you recycle your bags, include all plastic bags from grocery, retail and dry cleaning stores, plastic bags that cover newspapers, and product wraps from paper towels, napkins, bathroom tissue and diapers.

4. Clean and empty. Before tossing them in the recycle bin, make sure bottles are appropriately rinsed and that caps are removed.

5. Bring bottles back to the bin. When bottles are emptied away from home, store them in a backpack or briefcase, or simply leave them in the car until arriving home to place in a recycle bin.

6. Store bags in a bag. Storing plastic bags and wraps in a plastic bag offers neat, convenient storage. Simply knot the handles when you’re ready to drop them off at your local grocer or retailer.

7. Reuse those bags! From trash can liners to pet pick-up, plastic bags can be used dozens of ways.

8. Pitch in beyond the kitchen. While many recyclable bottles and bags come from the kitchen, don’t forget to check the bathrooms and laundry room for shampoo and detergent bottles and reuse your plastic bags as trash can liners throughout the house.

9. When in doubt, leave it out. Be careful not to contaminate your recyclables with garbage or items that aren’t recycled in your area.

10. Bridge the second generation gap. It’s important to remember that recycled plastics go on to become second generation products like carpet, fleece jackets and new bottles and bags.

The survey was conducted by Synovate in November 2009 to a nationally representative sample of 984 Americans adults aged 18+. ACC is a sponsor of America Recycles Day through Keep America Beautiful.

Recycling plastic bottles and bags is one thing that everyone can do to help make a difference, not just because it keeps valuable materials out of landfills, but because the plastic bottles and bags you recycle can live “second lives” as other products such as carpeting, a tote bag, furniture or even a stylish T-shirt.  In fact, 81 percent of Americans say they want to buy and/or wear clothing made from recycled materials!