Plastic bags and plastic film can cause some confusion at the recycling bin. They may have a recycling symbol and #4 printed on them, but Lake County does not recycle them.

You can take plastic bags to the Leadville Safeway, which has a bin for recycling soft plastic bags.

Why is this? Markets for all recyclables vary, and our small community does not gather enough plastic bags and film to make recycling them cost-effective. And when they are mixed in with the plastic containers, they can damage the processing machinery by gumming up the belts. The local Safeway joins with other stores to collect a larger amount of plastic bags, which they can then sell to a recycler in bulk.

For more information, please explore the recycling tips on C4Leadville.org, or ask a member of the Recycling Center team at the Lake County Landfill. Thank you for recycling with care!