Pop’em in the Trash: Bubble wrap, air pillows and plastic packaging

Pop'em in the Trash

It's common to see items such as bubble wrap, air pillows, bubble mailers and plastic packaging delivered year-round to our doorstep. Despite being labeled with recycling symbols, these items go in the trash if they're not dropped off at a local retailer for special recycling.

Why does it matter?

In Clark County, these items should go in the garbage can when set out at the curb. If you put them in your blue recycle cart, you're mixing garbage with recycling, or in other words, contaminating the good recyclables. This reduces our ability to properly recycle the other items collected from your home. 

Unlike hard plastics, stretchy plastic packaging gets stuck in the recycling sorting equipment. This causes damage to the machinery, slows down the whole recycling process, and is a safety hazard when employees must cut them out.

Reuse your waste!

 Here are a few tips to reuse plastic packaging:

• Keep a few bubble mailers and plastic packaging to ship your own packages.
• Use all plastic packaging as filler for a larger package with smaller contents.
• Use bubble mailers, air pillows and bubble wrap for your next move or donate to another person in need. Bubble mailers are great to use in between plates and other breakable kitchenware.

Recycling Drop-off