Our county has been doing serious recycling for years....and just this month they have added to the **PLASTIC** items that can be put in the bin.

All plastic grocery bags are supposed to be recycled...as well as the bags the newspaper is delivered in.....I take a batch over ever couple of months.

As to grocery bags, I have 6-7 cloth/fiber bags that I usually take, 4 of which I have had for several years. I get 2-3 cents credit each time, so they have been paid for. One store, Trader Joe's, offers paper bags with handles OR offers a credit for reusable bags. The paper bags are useful for recycling the newspapers and small cardboard items, which go into a container with other paper items. We now recycle 95%+ of paper items.

Two of my reusable bags are insulated for frozen foods...and today I used one of those and a large picnic cooler with "blue ice" to protect my frozen foods from 90° temps.

So...it IS getting better on the recycling front in some areas.