Green Team Tip: Recycling Plastic Bags

Did you know it’s Earth Week? If you haven’t already pledged your Act of Green, head over to EarthDay.org and do so now.

When we blogged about the Crown Prince Green Team in February, we shared several initiatives that our Green Team has been pursuing since its formation in 2008. These initiatives ranged from electricity reduction, carbon disclosure, “Back to the Tap” water pledges and tree planting.

Last week the entire company participated in a sustainability seminar geared at identifying ways that Crown Prince as a company can reduce our carbon footprint on the environment.  Although this movement starts with us, we are hoping to encourage our trading partners and consumers to join in.

Our most active initiative is that of education. Each week, the Green Team shares green-living tips giving the entire Crown Prince team advice on healthier, greener living both at work and at home. We’ve been sending these emails internally since July 2008, and we can only imagine the many small (or not so small) changes that have come as a result.

Spreading the Word

So, we thought, why not share this information with our blog readers? Especially in honor of Earth Week, here’s a rundown of the information from our most recent Green Team email update:

Many types of plastic bags can be recycled: from grocery and newspaper bags to cereal box liners and furniture wrap. Find a full list here.

Though often too light for curbside recycling, many plastic bags are collected at grocery and retail stores.  This includes major retailers such as Target, Best Buy and Lowes Home Improvement.

When recycled, plastic bags can be turned into all sorts of things: while composite lumber is most common; crates, pipes, new bags, pallets and pellets are also made of recycled plastic bags. Plastic bags can also be made into great art:

Recycled Plastic Bag Animals (available for purchase at WOW Imports, or better yet, create your own!)

The trick to recycling plastic bags at home is to remember to take them with you to the store. Try writing “bring plastic bags” at the top of your grocery list. To collect the bags in your house, hang a canvas bag over the doorknob and place emptied plastic bags in it for easy transport when you’re ready to go.

Canvas Shopping Bag (available for purchase at cafepress.com)

So, what will your small change be? Share in the comments, or follow us on Facebook. Oh, and Happy Earth Week!

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