July 30 - Encore Recycling Turns Agricultural Plastic Into Reusable Bags
Encore Recycling, a new facility that will recycle plastic used in the agricultural industry and make reusable grocery bags, will open in Salinas later this year, according to freshplaza.com.
Pete Grande, CEO of Command Packaging, which has invested in the facility, called the project a big step forward in creating a closed loop system. The reusable bags will be comparable in price to paper bags that customers may purchase in stores where local ordinances have been approved restricting the distribution of single-use plastic bags.
"The original idea was to take agricultural film and plastic and recycle it into plastic products for the agricultural industry, and so creating a closed loop environment for growers," said Grande. "But we're going to make reusable grocery bags right now because we feel it's a big issue."
The facility will turn 100 million pounds of plastic into reusable bags each year.
There are now 79 California communities covered under local ordinances restricting the distribution of single-use plastic bags. In January, when LA City’s ordinance takes effect, one in three Californians will live in a community covered under such an ordinance.
Find out how you can join the campaign to end single-use plastic bags.