Calgary disposal answer
Plastic bags and overwrap: blue cart
Blue cart — Recycling
Empty, clean plastic bags and overwrap, including grocery, bread, produce and freezer bags, go loose in the blue cart. Bundling is no longer required.
How to prepare it
- Shake out crumbs, turning the bag inside out if needed, and put any food bits in the green cart.
- Peel off stickers and labels where you can; a little leftover sticker is fine.
- Separate plastic overwrap from cardboard and recycle the two separately.
- Bubble wrap, shipping bags, dry cleaner bags and woven plastic bags used for rice or pet food are accepted too.
Good to know
Since October 1, 2026, crinkly bags and wrappers are accepted alongside stretchy bags, and the old rule of bundling bags inside one tied bag no longer applies. Do not use garbage bags, kitchen catcher bags or blue bags to hold your recyclables, and keep every kind of plastic bag out of the green cart. Cloth and nylon reusable bags are not packaging; donate them or take them to an Eco Centre for textile recycling.
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