WATCH: Plastic Bags In Your House? Don't Put Them In Recycling Bins, Brick Students Say

BRICK, NJ — Before you put those ShopRite bags in the recycling bin, watch this video.

For months, Brick Township officials have been trying to drive home the message that plastic bags people get at various stores — Wawa, Target, 7-Eleven, and more — don't belong in the township's recycling bins.

Township Councilman Jim Fozman, the liaison to the township's public works department, has repeated emphasized at council meetings that the bags should not go into the single-stream bins, because of the problems they create at the Ocean County Recycling Center.

During a report on the township's recycling efforts earlier this year, Fozman said Ocean County officials told the township that plastic shopping bags cause a variety of problems at the county's recycling center, with an impact of about $1 million each year.

Plastic bags wrap around the screens on the recycling equipment, which then have to be cleaned and frequently repaired. Plastic bags accelerate the wear and tear on the rubber stars, shafts, and bearings, the county told Brick. That accounts for approximately $65,000 in added maintenance costs annually, Brick officials have said. The county had to hire employees just to remove plastic bags from the recycling stream to try to prevent problems, officials have said.

The Green Team at Emma Havens Young Elementary School decided to try to help get the message out.

Headed by Jeanette Wehner, the Ocean County Teacher of the Year for 2017, the Green Team is a club of fifth-graders who brainstorm ideas on reducing their school's ecological footprint, making it a healthier place and getting the whole community thinking about solutions to environmental problems.

The Green Team decided to tackle the plastic bag issue and created this video to get the message across.

In addition to the students' efforts to collect bags at the school, ShopRite and Stop n Shop both offer bins for recycling shopping bags.

Plastic bags like these create havoc in the county's recycling equipment. Karen Wall photo