Despite being a significant drag on productivity, the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority isn't considering a ban on plastic bag use for recycle collection.
Manager of Waste Diversion Cam Wright says the bags are slowing down the recycling process, but a ban may do more harm than good.
"It doesn't necessarily follow that if we ban them that that will be a positive influence on the program," says Wright. "The fear here is that if you ban plastic bags then people may just simply stop recycling."
A report to the authority's board shows plastic bags are hiking up maintenance costs and clogging up the recycling process.
"In that facility somebody has to rip that bag open to get that content out," says Wright. "Even if they rip that bag open, now we have to try and get the containers out of the fibre building and the fibres out of the container building."
Wright adds the plastic bags are more dangerous for recycle collectors than the red and blue bins.
"In some real cases people have put syringes in them, drivers have been picked and you know what the outcome of that is — not very positive for the driver," says Wright.
The plastic bags themselves aren't recyclable — regardless if they have a recycle logo on them or not.
Wright urges residents to put the appropriate recyclable materials loose in their respective red or blue box and adds additional boxes can be bought at a subsidized rate of $6 or cardboard boxes can be used for overflow.
