Paper Bags
- DO put them in curbside recycling
- DON’T include any bags soiled with grease or other foodstuff in recycling
- DO remove any non-paper handles
About These Items
Paper bags are a staple of grocery shopping, school lunches, and pharmacies. They can be recycled as mixed paper through the city’s curbside recycling pickup as long as they are empty, unspoiled by grease, and you remove any special non-paper handles.
While mixed papers like paper bags are accepted curbside, it can be more valuable to the city if dropped off at one of the city’s various drop-off locations. (see below)
Drop off to increase value.
While the curbside pickup recycling is single-stream (meaning, all recyclables are combined together), starting in summer 2019 the city’s drop-off centers will collect some items in a separate pick-up and send to a separate facility for sorting and recycling. This separation reduces contamination of recyclables and increases their value. Mixed paper, including paper bags, is one of these items now being sent (at least some of the time) to a separate facility. So if you want your mixed paper items to have the best chance of being recycled and creating the most value, consider dropping off your mixed paper at one of these drop-off locations into the city’s mixed paper dumpsters. (Note that another of these separated items is shredded paper.)
When you drop off, the items are accepted in plastic bags. However, these bags will most likely be cut open and then discarded at the sorting facility, so consider using one of your larger paper bags for mixed paper (because it can also be recycled as mixed paper) or dumping your mixed paper loose into the dumpster.
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