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Plastic bags and overwrap
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In Calgary, put this in the
Blue cart — Recycling
Stuff clean, dry plastic bags and overwrap into one plastic bag, tie it shut, and place it in the blue cart so loose bags do not jam the sorting machines.
Also searched as: plastic bags, grocery bags, bread bags, bubble wrap, plastic film.
Why the blue cart?
Loose film is the sorting facility’s worst enemy — it wraps around spinning discs and shuts the line down for cleaning. Bagged together into one tied “bag of bags”, film gets picked off intact and recycled into new film and composite lumber.
Get it right
- One bag, stuffed full, tied shut — that’s the whole trick. Loose bags in the cart cause the problem.
- Only clean, dry, stretchy film qualifies: grocery bags, bread bags, overwrap, clean bubble wrap.
- Crinkly bags (chip bags, cellophane) and food-soiled film go in the black cart instead.
- Never put plastic bags of any kind in the green cart — plastic is the composting facility’s top contaminant.
Related items
🗑️ Plastic straws🗑️ Cling wrap♻️ Plastic tubs and lids🗑️ Styrofoam🗑️ Black plastic containers♻️ Plastic jugs
Know your pickup days too
Look up your black, blue and green cart collection schedule by address.
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