Dry Cleaning Bags Trash Plastic Bags & Film Dry cleaning bags are considered plastic film. Plastic film includes wraps, bags, and flexible packaging. It is not ideal for curbside recycling collection because it can jam sorting equipment resulting in mechanical issues. To ensure dry cleaning bags get recycled, bring it to a participating plastic film drop-off location. Empty bags and remove hangers, staples, and tape. Only items that are clean and dry will be accepted. Not all types of plastic film are accepted at all locations. Confirm acceptability prior to drop-off. If you are not planning on taking dry cleaning bags to a dedicated plastic film recycling location, then please place them in the trash container. Remove Tags and Hangers Before you recycle dry cleaning bags, make sure they don’t have any tags or receipts attached to them. Remove any wire hangers from the bags as well. Ways to Reduce Use Reusable Garment Bags Reduce plastic consumption by taking your clothes to the dry cleaner in a reusable garment bag. Hand Wash Instead Many items that say “dry clean only” can be washed by hand and gently steamed to remove wrinkles. Only chemically clean garments that really need it, because the chemicals used in dry cleaning can leach into water supplies. Did You Know? How Many Dry Cleaning Bags? Americans use an estimated 300 million pounds of plastic dry cleaning bags each year. These bags are not easy to reuse or recycle, and often end up in landfills or contaminating the environment. Green Dry Cleaning The company GreenEarth Cleaning has created a way to dry clean clothing with liquid silicone instead of petrochemicals. Read more here or locate your closest green dry cleaner.