San Antonio no longer accepting plastic bags in curbside recycling

The San Antonio Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) will no longer accept single-use plastic bags in curbside recycling bins starting Aug. 1.

SWMD says this change is crucial to address the issues caused by processing plastic film alongside municipal recycling. Plastic film products are often referred to as tanglers and commonly get caught in disc screens at material recovery facilities (MRFs), slowing down operations and posing risks to employees.  

“The decision to stop accepting plastic bags in the blue recycling cart is not unique to San Antonio,” SWMD Deputy Director Josephine Valencia says. “Of the nation’s ten other largest cities, none of them are accepting plastic bags in the blue cart. San Antonio kept them in its program for several years, but operationally it hasn’t worked.

“The change affects our 370,000 customers, but it is important to note that the city’s private hauling companies that collect from the remaining 2,081,000 population and commercial businesses have never accepted plastic bags in their recycling programs."

SWMD recommends dropping off plastic bags at retailer drop-off kiosks, rather than placing them in curbside recycling bins.

As previously reported by Recycling Today, the Film Drop-Off Directory, a guide to public drop-off locations that accepted plastic film for recycling, was removed from BagandFilmRecycling.org in November 2023, citing lack of funding and viable end markets for the materials. The defunct resource now directs users to the NexTrex website, which features a list of retail chains hosting Trex plastic film collection bins. Participating retailers in Texas include Kohl’s, Kroeger and Winco Foods.

SWMD urges residents to use reusable bags and to dispose of plastic bags in curbside waste bins when recycling drop-off is not an option.