What To Know About Recycling And Plastic Bags In Livingston

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of Livingston Township. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Residents are reminded that they should never put plastic bags in with recycling or put any type of recycling in plastic bags. Always put recycling out in a sturdy reusable container, such as a recycling container or bin. Paper recycling can be put out in paper bags or in a sturdy reusable bin.

Garbage can be put into plastic bags — kitchen bags, contractor bags, or saved single-use bags, such as those from a supermarket or store from takeout food, etc. Put heavier-duty bags at the curb by themselves or in a bin or container. Lighter-weight bags should be put inside a sturdy container such as a trash can and placed at the curb.

Why Not Use Plastic Bags for Recycling?

Recycling plants use machines and production lines to handle a high volume of recycling items. Plastic bags in the recycling stream become tangled with other items and then get caught and twisted around the rollers. When this happens, the processing line must be completely stopped in order for the plastic bag to be cut apart so that it can be removed from the rollers. This is why it is so important that residents never put either paper or commingled recycling out in plastic bags of any kind.

Properly disposing of these plastic bags in a Plastic Bag Recycling Bin helps the environment and helps keep local recycling moving smoothly. Anyone needing to dispose of plastic bags can place them in one of the special Plastic Bag Recycling Bins, such as those located outside of the Livingston ShopRite and the Livingston Kings Supermarket, both located on S. Livingston Avenue.

More Information

The following information can also be found on the township website:

• Metal Recycling: livingstonnj.org/Metal
• Electronics Recycling: livingstonnj.org/Electronics
• Battery Recycling/Disposal: livingstonnj.org/Batteries
• Other Special Items: livingstonnj.org/Recycling
• Additional information about Garbage and Recycling: livingstonnj.org/GarbageRecycling

Keep up with Livingston’s recycling efforts by visiting livingstonnj.org/Recycling. Follow Livingston Township, NJ on Facebook and Instagram and on X (Twitter) @Livingston_NJ, and register for emergency alerts from the police department and township at livingstonnj.org/Alerts.

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