Inside America's plastic bag recycling problem | Nightline 

It seems as if the rep for the American Chemistry Council was expecting some softball questions. He had his points ready but wasn't prepared for pushback. The journalist was patient but not backing down. Excellent journalist.

It’s ridiculous how bad our recycling is in this country

When I worked at Winn Dixie I had to take the trash out, we had recycling and regular trash cans. Both of them went into the same garbage dumpster behind the store.

As someone who tries to recycle just about everything, this breaks my heart 😢 I actually make an even bigger effort to collect all of the plastic bags we use in our house and walk them to Publix to deposit them in the plastic bags recyclable drop off bins..where I have always assumed they would be turned into new products and keep them from landfills. This is a sham played on us by the people we buy products from, who all need to take responsibility for the trash they created.

I can remember when the government thought that Paper bags were the problem back in the 70's and early 80's and they told us how much we needed plastic bags and that we didn't need to reuse glass pop bottles, we needed single use plastic ones...... and look where we are now. At least paper bags you could use them for other things, plastic bags can barely make it home before they rip.

I don't know. Maybe we should stop blaming consumers. We WANT to reduce plastic waste.

This is great reporting! Thank you for the investigation. I've been wondering about where my bags go when i take them to these bins.

The $0.10 we pay for each bag we use at the grocery store, retail stores were suppose to deter us from using anything but recycle bags. Where does that money go? What is it used for?

I was involved with replacing the flooring in one of the largest international airports in America three different times over my career. Each time they claimed they were recycling the old removed carpet there idea, recycling. It was shipping it to an incinerator and burning it. Can you imagine what pollutants burning carpeting would put into the air I can’t.

This is the type of reporting we need in USA, not stoking the flames of a cultural war. Expose these liars for what they are.

I work at target and one of the issues with our recycling bins is that customers will throw more than just plastic in the bins and we do not have the staff or time to sort through all the trash. Unfortunately in our store it all gets thrown away.

I have been reaching out to Walmart in every way possible with my idea on reducing plastic bag use and I have received no response. Walmart Pickup orders should NOT come in plastic bags and the items should be transferred from the baskets to reusable bags in the person’s car. This should at the very least be an option and if Walmart actually cared about the environment it would have been done already.

About time. I hope corporations have to pay.

My old job used to collect recycling with seperate bins for cans and plastic, only for it all to get thrown into the trash. Its easy to make it look like you do the right thing but hard to actually do it.

Over 30 years, sorting one’s garbage has became cherished ritual. I’m sure many would do it instinctively at this point.

This is disappointing. All local Wal Marts have large cardboard boxes for plastic bag recycling. The signs say to put any type of bag in the box even non-Wal Mart ones. They are shredded and made in to new bags. So the signs said. When I last worked at a Wal Mart Supercenter, there were huge plastic bags that were wrapped in products like furniture. These bags were collected in the back and once a month, a "plastic bale" was made in a compression unit just as we did with all the cardboard waste. I never dealt with the plastic bags out front. A third party collected those. But I now question where that plastic bale went to and where the plastic bags I dropped in to the box at Wal Mart goes. I have had people tell me for years that plastic recycling is a con. I resisted because the alternative was that the plastic went to a landfill. Turns out, the plastic bags I dropped in that box at Wal Mart IS just going to a landfill. George Carlin was right. Humans suck.

I'm really glad ABC is looking into stories like this & shining light on the truth. The Seattle Aquarium has been working to reduce sources of plastic pollution in the environment-in 2020 we helped pass the Reusable Bag Bill to eliminate thin, single-use plastic bags in Washington state & the manufacturers of plastics are taking credit for Seattle's idea to make themselves look better so they can continue to make plastic bags & whatnot. Great research & reporting on this topic. Please do a story on Lithium fracking and its environmental impacts, child labor involved, and look who owns over 85% of Lithium plants, China. Water pollution is caused by the process and how much water is needed. This would be a head turning news story. You would be surprised to see who is lining their pockets in CA. Selling people on the idea of a cleaner environment by pushing electric vehicles even though it's straining the power grid and depleting water in areas already lacking in water. How is a Lithium car battery recycled??? Check this out if you're curious.

Recycling bags is difficult. Our factory has been making degradable and recyclable plastic bags for 23 years. We also hope that people will take action to reduce plastic waste

I have a huge bag of grocery store bags that I've been trying to recycle. I'm glad I saw this video before I took them to Walmart.

Time for the USA to ban single use plastic... Like so many other countries have already done

Love this reporter! Way to push back!!!!

The recycled system in our country has been a joke since its inception by the very companies producing the plastics

This reporter is not taking no for an answer! He wants solid facts and figures anything else he pushes back! I love it- lets hold them accountable. Many retailers want to "appear like they care for the enviornment" but its just PR points and not being actually followed through in most instances as it should.

I would tell people who brought them into my store and tell them they are just going in the trash. They didn't want to believe me lol.

Ways i use plastic bags- diaper disposal bags, garbage can liners, shower caps

All they think of is MONEY. Everyone is full of it. The world has really changed and greed had a big part of it

So sad. Reduce, reuse, recycle. I think for me i still try to reduce and reuse as much i can before i recyce because i have very little confidence that anything i put into the recycle bin is being recycled now days.

which is why we need to ban the use of plastic bags and limit the use of plastic in other products. does clothing really need to be made from plastic? no, of course not. this fight starts with consumers caring enough to pay attention to what they're buying, and how much of it they're wasting.

I could have saved you a lot of time and trouble. I asked many years ago what Target did with the plastic bags and a gentleman told me they go in the garbage 🤷 and on another subject, batteries, I have been trying to find somebody who recycles those four decades. The only thing I can find is online vendors who say that they will send me a five gallon bucket and I send the batteries back to them in the five gallon bucket. How do I know they're not just throwing them in the garbage and taking my money

I take a few cardboard boxes to the store. I put a big one in the bottom of my cart to keep my items from touching the dirty cart. I don't bag anything at checkout. It all goes in the box. When, I get to the car, I transfer items into smaller boxes that I can easily carry into my home. Before I started this, we were trashing hundreds of bags per month.

Great video and extremely informative.. I have started reusing all my plastic bags to seal foods and items around the house. It’s better than just throwing them away or ending up as shown in your video. I’m my area recycling is really bad an you spend too much time sorting and placing in the recycling bins just to see the recycling items dumped with the regular waste.. I’m trying to do what I can in helping the bags issues.. everyone take care and have a great week

We have recycling receptacles at work and the janitors just throw everything in the dumpster 😂

Appreciate ABC News doing this.

It's a worldwide problem

Recycling is Not the answer... plastic needs to be replaced with something new

Reporter, please show us a company who has mastered manufacturing a viable Product made of Non-Virgin Plastic. Please show us a Research University that has found a workable process to produce goods out of used plastic.

He was like, let me go back and change my story.

The US is too focused on $$$$ at all times, if there's no profit to be had, they aren't interested. Stores should be refusing to use or offer single -use plastic bags and force people to bring or buy reusable bags. People will grumble and bitch, but they'll get over it and adapt. I saw this saying: When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money. Truer words were never spoken.

This was an interesting bit of information. Living in Washington which is a pretty big recycling State there are Ben's in grocery stores and other retail stores to bring in your plastic bags and recycle them. Living in Washington state when you go to the grocery store there are no plastic bags. You have to bring your own. They heavy duty plastic bags that some retailers were using and grocery stores cost $0.08 and you could actually wash them I never tried doing that but that's what it said on the bag. I found other uses for those plastic bags.

Maybe the sorting equipment detected the metal airtags inside, which lead them to an alternate route instead.

The world is moving into digitalizing recycling, it feels amazing to earn through investing in recycling businesses and initiative.

A lot of greenwashing going on with plastic and supposed plastics recycling. We have a drop off for plastic bags and other types of plastic film at the London Drugs store down the street. They say it gets recycled, but who knows where it actually goes. I don't know if there's a verification system to back up their claims. I try and use as little throw away plastic as possible, and when I go grocery shopping, I bring my own reusable bags. Plus I reuse paper bags I have that are still in good condition when I'm grabbing fresh produce like mushrooms or green string beans. I also go to a store that has a lot of bulk items they keep in bins, like rice, dried beans, herbs, spices and such. I bring my own containers for most of that. I do the best I can, which is more than most, but it's hard to totally eliminate single use plastic.

That's great that they did this investigative reporting. It made a difference! It also validates my leariness over using big box stores for recycling. I have my go-to sources that I trust, but people shouldn't have to research whether or not a place claiming to recycle is actually recycling; the companies (and government entities) should simply be doing it if they advertise it.

One could argue that the recyclers found the trackers. Since they're (a) not plastic and (b) glued into the bag, that makes the bag non-recyclable. So they sent it to an incinerator/garbage dump. Also I've seen lots of those plastic bag recycling bins being used as regular garbage bins by people, like food and stuff. That contaminates the whole box worth of bags.

At 8:20with them side by,side, I was laughing...I kept picturing the guy in blue grabbing the interviewer by the collar, "Listen you little twerp!...just believe what I say!, or else!.." --watch his left hand.

I roadtripped along the gulf coast, i dont think i saw a single recycle bin... seriously

Stores out west charge 10cents per brown paper, and the plastic ones are gone all together....

I was told at my local key food that they just toss those bags in the trash

Plastic bags have been banned in most stores where I live, which is too bad, because I used to save them for reuse.

Oh my thank you thank you ❤❤

I live in British Columbia, Canada, which has the best recycling infrastructure in the country. I work in recycling. The amount of single use plastic the facility I work in is terrifying, not because it won't get properly recycled, (it will), but because this crap shouldn't be made in the first place, and because money in politics prevents nearly half of plastic here from ever entering the recycling system. I see only "residential" single use plastic, which the government has mandated to be recycled. However, "commercial" single use plastic has no such boundaries. It usually goes to local landfills or incinerators, or to Southeast Asian landfills and incubators. Why? Because BIG OIL wants your money. It's that simple. Politicians at every level are tempted by, and often succumb to, bribes by big oil. It's called "lobbying". What's the best way, and ONLY WAY, to fix this world killing mess? Get the money out of politics NOW. We're running out of time.

THANK YOU

Why don't they spin the plastic bags into rope? It's not hard to do. You can do it yourself at home with the bobbin on a sewing machine. Lots of people make plarn. How hard could it be to do it on an industrial scale? They could use it to make all kinds of products.

Part of this issue is habit of cashiers. I carry a backpack daily. Except for establishments I frequent often whom I've told multiple times that I don't need a bag the cashier will automatically grab a bag and place my items in it. I'll promptly remove the items ro my bag and leave the bag on the counter. Many cashiers are kinda happy I do this not only for sparing the trash, but for sparing the owner the cost of the bag as well. Get in the habit of reusable bags folks!

it's clear the idea of production of plastics leans heavily on the ASSUMPTION that the consumption end is well regulated. It is not. But the proof of concept pretty much failed. So production ought to make itself part of ( not 3rd party) the recycle/consumer part to reclaim the stuff, recycle it themselves.

Even just recycling these to make cheap planting pots, that can then be recycled again and again into new planter pots .

Maybe I’m just stating the obvious but maybe we should just stop using those bags….

On New Year's Day of this year a city that I live about 20 minutes away from here in Maryland they made all plastic bags illegal in every single store in the city limits. That includes Walmart and big chain grocery stores such as Weis. The reason they made plastic bags illegal in the city limits is to help reduce plastic waste and that sord of thing. I think that was a smart idea on their end. Now as far as take out restaurants in the city limits go those restaurants might be allowed to use plastic bags but I'm not 100% sure on that. The grocery stores in the city limits give you the option to either use paper bags for small lose change or you can bring your own reusable bags or the groceries can be put back in the cart like Sam's Club after the items have been scanned and paid for. The city I'm talking about by the way is called Frederick, Maryland for those who are curious about what city I'm talking about.

Some real journalism for once. I hope this promotes positive change

Here is something the American public needs to get through our thick skulls. Plastic recycling is extremely doable! We just have to also be content to spend $6-7 Dollars for a plastic bottle of water! The ONLY reason we aren't recycling most everything plastic is because you and I REFUSE to pay the price! This isn't even debatable. This has been a fact for 30 years!

I’m giving up to save plastic bag it’s going in to the trash to save me time 😂

LOL, they don’t even know their own program!!! 😂

The truth is the consumer will use what's available for carrying goods so simply stop creating plastic bags and as I recall plastic bags were created to save the tree's .. The challenge is to create something to carry items without it being a burden on the environment or resources .. Someone could really make serious money for this remedy 🤓

wow, this is depressing.. I have been recycling bags since 2011…. now what do I do?

You father enough bags together, you can put them in a pillow case to use as a pillow. May have a little crunchy sound, but your head won't be on laying on a flat surface.

This is why people need to burn their trash.

To be fair, the US is probably way more green compared to the majority of the world when it comes to recycling plastic. I believe Denmark and The Netherlands are at the top. Many countries in the world have little or no recycling system. No government regulations. No recycling facilities. No market connections to companies that buy used plastic in order to make new plastic. I have heard from visitors from one southeast asian country that, "At night we just take our stuff down to the beach, and in the morning it's gone." Making new plastic from oil and gas is cheaper than making it from old plastic. In other words, corporate greed.I believe that IF a sound recycling system is available to everyone and every commercial enterprise, and IF plastic producers, (read "BIG OIL"), are forced to make new plastic EXCLUSIVELY from old plastic, and IF money is out of politics, ........ whew ........... then we may survive as a species.

Think of all the jobs that could be created if all countries opened/operated plastic recycling facilities. Think of all the products that could be manufactured. Playground equipment, park benches, bus stops, planters... the list goes on and on. Cities could beautify their parks and downtown areas. Why are we wasting viable solutions and reusable materials?!!

I really want to know what the people with “plastic bag recycling programs” are actually doing with them. How are they being recycled?

The point to remember is that just because something can be recycled does not mean that it is. what makes something recyclable is there has to be a profitable market for the end product , sadly the problem is that there is still way more profit to be made using virgin plastics than recycled ones. and that is where the actual system fails.

My fam uses grocery bags etc to recycle items. We all know the truth. But every penny counts and trash bags cost money when grocery bags are free. Either way we all know its going to the same place. But again every penny counts.

Thanks for confirming everything we already knew.

Damn what a reporter!!!

Please change the loud ending at the end of all these videos!

Simple, do your part, STOP using the plastic bags, use reusable bags only

It's easy to show that something is broken. The hard work is fixing it. So what is ABC doing to help fix this?

Why can’t a system be put in place like in most European countries. There you PAY extra if you need plastic bags for your groceries. Most people bring their OWN Bags for groceries etc. It encourages responsibility by consumers to reduce the use of plastic bags. Such a common sense and easy solution to implement. Just takes a bit of backbone by each State’s legislators.

When I was growing up no one used plastic bags. We used paper sacks from the grocery store. First time I ever saw plastic bags was while living in Spain from a store like the old small Walmart. Plastic trash bags are so unnecessary.

There's no point in recycling plastic, 91% of all plastic isn't recycled even if you put it in a recycling bin. Most plastics are not recyclable. Cardboard and aluminum is much easier to recycle. The answer is to try and stop using plastic as much as possible. It's not too waste people's time and money by having them recycle plastics just to feel good.

We will never recycle our way out of our plastic problems.

A few companies turn plastic into fuel. This could be an idea for the short run as we switch to electric cars. One company even makes jet fuel out of plastic.

Almost every grocery store in America offers re-usable bags as an option for their customers. But you have to buy the bag and remember to bring them for EVERY trip to the supermarket. Consequently, NO ONE uses them!!

It's quite obvious why it's not working. There's no money in it. The recycled plastic isn't really any cheaper than new plastic. By time you add in the recycling process, the pickup and collection, the sorting process, then reselling it to manufacturers of plastic goods... well, there's not really any profit left over to make it worthwhile. It's all a "feel good" kind of thing anyways. It always has been, since it's inception.

He says he wants to make it "Easy, simple and convenient for consumers..." What does that mean with your use of "sustainable"?

Our city, Surprise Arizona has stopped recycling programs…. So now it’s just all trash. Separating plastics is just not economical to the city anymore. The Phoenix Valley is a huge area.. so now what??

Recycling is a solution for a bigger problem. If they're all petroleum based, then we know where the money flows and where the interests are. Plant based 'platics' are a thing and quite frankly a very viable solution which would reduce the issue to plastic recycling. But as long as the financial incentives are around, petroleum based products will continue to be the go-to and fuel the problem even more.

Stop buying items sold in plastic, opt for other options, manfctr. Will eventually change their packaging

Ok, they need to pay a fine!

The thing is that recycling can work if there's a will to do it. In Cairo, the Zabbalin, who are Christians who collect the garbage from most of the city, recycle an astonishing 87% of the city's garbage -- metal, plastic, glass, and even food waste (which they feed to their pigs).

30 years ago everyone was having fits over paper packaging. Save the (renewable) trees. Bans on paper bags and cartons were passed. So plastic filled the gap. Solutions create their own problems when emotional decisions are made instead of logical ones. There's WAY too much emotion driving things and this is the result. We wouldn't be in this mess if paper hadn't been demonized. This was avoidable.

Plastic bags are NOT supposed to be free in US! This is an answer you can find in rest of the World. What about to walk up with same plastic bags for a few times? Again and again. People do that in other countries.

Okay, so what about paper/cardboard? I get the impression that is no better and almost all of it goes straight to landfills. The only real difference between your regular trash and "recycling" is the companies charge a lot more to haul it away. Bottom line, recycling is a scam.

Great to see a bit of hard nosed journalism again. In Europe most countries have gotten rid of the plastic carrier shopping bag for years now. It takes a bit of getting used to and building up a routine, keep a bag of 2 in your car, a small fold up one in your bag and you are good to go. Plastic bags may be cheap but they are not free, you are paying for them in the price of your groceries. We also don’t use them for fruit and veg anymore but use instead string bags. PET I have recently learned is also not as easy to recycle and after 2 or 3 recycles also ends up in landfill and many can’t recycle coloured PET bottles at all. We need to remove as much plastic from our daily lives as humanly possible, it is leaching toxic chemicals including eternal chemicals into our environment and water, which we are then consuming. These chemicals affect our immune system and DNA and is like a very slow ticking time bomb, that somehow we seem to be content to ignore, but our grandchildren may not be able to.

If you can’t get ahold of the recycling scam you need to rethink everything else, small towns pay for recycling and is all being thrown together is what I’m told. If it’s being burnt why isn’t the EPA catching this on air quality? This is a scam to the good people trying to do the right thing!!!!! Good reporting!!!! Now what are you going to do with this information?

I worked in waste disposal and all plastic goes into landfills.

Are any companies working on methods to break down plastic bags into the basic hydrocarbons again? There is at one company doing this for polystyrene.

Why go after the consumer and not the manufacturer?

Sad part, if you complain about it, you're told to stop buying items in plastic. It's the companies that are responsible. You cannot find much that isn't packed in oodles of plastic. Pitiful The public is recycling (what a joke), but it seams like the manufacturing companies double down and put out more plastic. Why are we not using hemp instead?

Juese Gastonia NC showed up a few times in that map. Hate to tell you but if its in NC it's being buried in the landfill not recycled

RECYCLING business is a stable and profitable business since years now I have been going more deeper in investing in recycling digitalise business company that I am really doing very great in