Can you recycle a ziploc plastic bag?

Question

i am doing a science project and wanted to know if you can recycle a ziploc plastic baggie.

Answer 1

U can reuse it and that somewhat condidered recycleing it but, I don't thik U can recycle it the way your talking about, although U can always easily reuse as I mecaned

Answer 2

I reuse ziplock bags, but not any that have had meat in them, unless the meat was in another bag inside the bag..

Answer 3

You can wash them and then reuse them

Answer 4

Yes you can.  Drop it off with your grocery bags at your local grocery store that recycles bags.  They are both made out of Polyethelene.

The ziploc bag can be recycled back into plastic trash bags or plastic lumber to name a couple.

Answer 5

Other than washing them out as others have mentioned, no, ziplock plastic baggies are not recyclable.

Plastics in general are not recyclable, but downcyclable.

And unfortunately, many of the grocery bags collected for recycling end up shipped to Asia where they are incinerated by power plants.

Answer 6

you don't always have to recycle something by reusing it you are doing a better service and then you are also reducing your consumption of a product.As for your question contact the manufacture and ask them also contact your local recycling centre and ask them

Answer 7

I work for a plastic bag manufacturer and we make zipper type bags like the ziploc you're talking about.  They are generally made out of LDPE - that's low density polyethylene.  LDPE is completely recyclable - it's collected, sorted, cleaned, stripped of dies and other impurities and re-pelletized (melted and reformed into small pellets) that can then be used in the making of other plastic products that call for LDPE, such as trash bags.  This happens all the time in the industry, especially with LDPE plastic packaging (that is surplus for some reason or mis-printed), like bread bags which are also LDPE.  Zipper-type food bags cannot be recycled in this fashion back into food bags or food packaging, however, because the FDA doesn't allow it.  Only "virgin", i.e. new, resins can be used in food contact applications.  The key to recycling a ziploc plastic bag is whether the local recycling collection service collects that type of plastic and can process it.  You may be able to get more information from the national association of recyclers (search on Google for the exact name).  But the bag itself, and the material it's made out of, is perfectly recycle-able in industry.

Answer 8

I agree with most of the others who have responded - reuse.

I do not know of any way to truely recycle these bags.  If they were made of the same material as the grocery bags, you could recycle at the grocery store along with these as long as your bags were clean (left over food attracts bugs and rodents)...but I would recommend that you do some research on this before trying.  Perhaps someone else out there knows the answer to this question?  There are MANY different kinds of plastic, and it is important that all the different kinds be kept separate.  Because the ziplock bags and the grocery bags don't feel the same, I doubt that they are made of the same material.

Please do not sink used bags in lakes or ponds as suggested by someone below.  The bags will evenually leak and become just another piece of trash that washes up on shore.  It is also unlikely that fish will use this type of substrate to lay eggs on.  Because it is nearly the same density as the water (just has a thin plastic coating), it will move with currents like waves in the lake.  Unlike aquatic plants that make good habitat for fish and their eggs, the bags are not rooted to the bottom, so they will "roll".

Answer 9

the best way to recycle it is to wash and reuse it.

Answer 10

Yes, you can recycle ziploc bags with your other plastic items.  I usually rinse and reuse them until they get a hole or something, and then I recycle.

Answer 11

of course you can. just wash it, turn it inside out to dry, and you're ready to go.

Answer 12

Not really. Most recyclers will not take any food containers. They can be reused for storage, or shred them for garden mulch.

Answer 13

JAMES, ARE YOU SERIOUS?  

I hope you are not that stupid and think you're doing fish a favor by polluting their environment with plastic.  WOW!!!