King County: Plastic bags and wrap can no longer go in recycling bins

If the plastic wiggles, it can no longer be put into Seattle’s recycling bins.

The city says clean and dry plastic wrapping that is soft and plastic bags must now be put in the garbage, or taken to stores and other locations that will still take it.

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Seattle Public Utilities spokesperson Susan Fife-Ferris says clean, hard plastics like packaging, bottles, and food and product containers can still go in city recycling containers.

“You can still put plastic bottles, you can still put plastic tubs, you can put rigid types of plastic still in there,” she said. “We are asking people to take those bags and that film — like what you have your toilet paper wrapped in — bundle those and take them back to your grocery store or other convenient retail drop-off locations.”

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The city says it will be expanding the number of drop-off locations for soft-plastic recycling.

Seattle stopped allowing plastic bags and wrap at the first of the year because of numerous issues, including how often plastic floated into another bin and contaminated other recycling. Such plastics can also jam sorting and processing equipment, leading to shutdowns while workers untangled the materials.

To learn more about the new recycling rules, head here.