Except for some articles in the Chicago Tribune, I have never seen any public campaign in newspapers or on TV explaining to people how damaging plastics bags are to recycling centers. I guess very few people know that plastic bags jam the equipment in recycling centers. People should be informed about taking bags to the supermarkets, which should collaborate by placing special, visible bins at the entrance of the stores.
I have been taking my plastic bags to the supermarket for some time, but just recently, reading an article in the Chicago Tribune, I learned why I shouldn’t place them in the recycling bins. Also, we don’t want the bags to be the “national flower” as the article “Flimsy impacts of plastic-bag bans” in the Aug. 19 Chicago Tribune says. We also don’t want them to kill animals that ingest them or end up in landfills where they might never decompose.
—Cristina Martinez, Vernon Hills
