Plastics recycling bin at Smith’s. Photo credit: Smith’s Food and Drug.
SALT LAKE CITY — Smith’s Food & Drug is asking customers to recycle plastic grocery bags and other, thin plastic bags, by bringing them to a Smith’s location. The corporation said they will then use the plastic to create park benches.
And the offer stands for more than just plastic grocery bags. People can also drop off bubble wrap, the plastic overwrap around paper towels, cereal box liners, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, produce bags, newspaper sleeves, plastic shipping envelopes and clean sandwich bags at Smith’s stores.
According to a press release, shoppers can bring plastic bags to their neighborhood store and place them in bins at the front entry of the store. The bags will then be collected and recycled into other products such as plastic lumber.
“Instead of plastic bags ending up in landfills or littering green spaces, we utilize innovative services to turn the material into plastic lumber for the constructions of community benches and other items,” a Smith’s spokesman said.
Smith’s says they recycled 39 million pounds of plastic from its stores in 2020, the same year it committed to phasing out single-use plastic bags by 2025.
Other than plastic grocery bags, customers can recycle things like bubble wrap, the plastic overwrap around paper towels, cereal box liners, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, produce bags, newspaper sleeves, plastic shipping envelopes and clean sandwich bags at their stores.
Learn more about Smith’s recycling efforts here.