Great news, recycling made easier. From the Sun.
Blue bags help residents think green
March 07, 2007
By David Magliano
Garbage bags have always been black and white. Now, they are available in recyclable blue with a new system designed to get more out of the three Rs.
?I think a lot of people would love to recycle but they just don?t know how,? said Christina Scally, a South Walton resident who promotes the blue bag system. ?I think this makes it a little bit easier.?
The program essentially takes some of the trash sorting into the home instead of the landfill. Residents purchase blue garbage bags from the store and use them to dispose of recyclable waste. They then place the blue bag out at the curb with their regular trash.
County inmates currently open trash bags and separate out recyclables at the landfills. The blue bag system is not mandatory as landfills will continue to separate trash, but using the blue bags helps the process produce less waste.
The city of Dallas operates a similar blue bag program. It has improved the city?s collection efficiency while reducing the amount of recyclables that are contaminated from mixing with regular trash.
?It?s more efficient for residents and waste management,? Scally said.
Scally hopes the program will encourage people to recycle more by making the process more routine. Walton County has trailers where residents can bring recyclables, but that requires locals to make an extra trip. The blue bags allow residents to recycle from their homes.
Some recyclable garbage still needs to be separated. For example, paper products need to remain dry, and residents should separate paper into its own blue bag.
Other items like cans, glass and plastics rinsed of food residue can be placed in bags together.
The bags are currently stocked at the Destin Wal-Mart. They cost $6.57 for a roll of 100, about $1 more than standard trash bags of the same size and brand.
Gwen Wright?s 1st-grade class at Butler Elementary collected 239 student signatures in a petition for other retailers to stock the bags. Scally said the Watercolor Publix has responded by ordering the blue bags. They should be available to customers soon.
?We just need stores getting them all in and getting the public, the Walton County residents, aware of this program,? said Scally.
Replies
26
Beach Fanatic
Butler had posted a note about this on The Bear Facts & I had checked Sandestin Publix this morning, but they definitely don't have them.
Headed to dreaded Wally-World tomorrow to get them, as my car is smaller than my recycling needs sometimes.
Do they have a separate section in truck to put the blue bags, as not to get stuck in regular trash?
Headed to dreaded Wally-World tomorrow to get them, as my car is smaller than my recycling needs sometimes.
Do they have a separate section in truck to put the blue bags, as not to get stuck in regular trash?
SoWal Expert
I bought mine at Watercolor Publix.
Beach Fanatic
Great news - more than anything else the fact tht SOWAL was so far behind other towns and cities with regards to recycling was making me crazy!!! So happy for baby steps...
Meow
:scratch: ...I wonder what the deal is at dumpsters? I'll give WC a call and find out. I am such a recycling nut now...and I have always hugged trees.
Beach Fanatic
I bought mine at Watercolor Publix.
Cool. Wally World drives me nuts, so I don't have to go there.
:scratch: ...I wonder what the deal is at dumpsters? I'll give WC a call and find out. I am such a recycling nut now...and I have always hugged trees.
I have a t-shirt that says "Hug A Tree" which IRONICALLY I found on a pharmaceutical related expedition to the abovementioned Wally World. :clap_1: Otherwise, I prefer the peace & quiet of this locale to that hellhole. I do love my t-shirt, though.
With recycling, we have so little "trash" that it's amazing, even with 3 kids. I am simply not motivated at all to take it to the centers, and Geoff is about to kick my butt if I don't get it out of the garage!
It's one of our running bones of contention, so if I can recycle and not have to leave it until I get motivated, he'll be a happier hubby. :roll:SoWal Expert
Bump~~~~~~
My blue bags are packed and ready to go!:clap_1: What a colorful arrangement they will make at the curb!
My blue bags are packed and ready to go!:clap_1: What a colorful arrangement they will make at the curb!
Beach Fanatic
Oh, gosh yes this will help. :clap_1: We currently have piles 
of newspapers, plastics, glass, etc going in an attempt to recycle and it is making me crazy.
of newspapers, plastics, glass, etc going in an attempt to recycle and it is making me crazy.
Beach Fanatic
so necessary...
Beach Fanatic
thanks for the tip...........................:clap_1:
Beach Fanatic
Oh, gosh yes this will help. :clap_1: We currently have piles
That's what was in my garage, until I finally got the bags and got the growing piles out today!
They were $3.19 for 8 bags at WaterColor Publix.
Still, it is worth the money to be able to recycle and not have to pack my car full of stuff and hear about the size of the recycling containers in the garage from my OCD hubby.;-) I 
him so much because he is a neat freak and will actually do most of the cleaning, although I can't let him near the laundry because he will surely shrink something.:shock: I should have gotten the ones at WalMart on my trip there yesterday, but my brain gets in the "Get in, get what you need, get the heck outta here" mode when I make that trip there.
Meow
I keep thinking this says !! Blue Bouncy round things!!
needs to get out moreAuthor
get your mind out of my gutter;-)
yeah, the price of a mere 8 at publix is pretty dear. and the 8 count, pretty weak. next time i can face driving into destin, i will need to get some at WM.
yeah, the price of a mere 8 at publix is pretty dear. and the 8 count, pretty weak. next time i can face driving into destin
, i will need to get some at WM.SoWal Expert
get your mind out of my gutter;-)
yeah, the price of a mere 8 at publix is pretty dear. and the 8 count, pretty weak. next time i can face driving into destin
Maybe I will start a black market blue bag business... a little less than Publix, a little more than Walmart. Buy them out of the back of my car.
Beach Fanatic
Maybe I'll join you and you can have one side of town and I'll get the other. :funn:
I needed to drive into Destin for Easter goodies and only made it as far as CVS... the thought of driving in any farther made me cringe!
Miss Kitty, all I can say is ....
I needed to drive into Destin for Easter goodies and only made it as far as CVS... the thought of driving in any farther made me cringe!
Miss Kitty, all I can say is ....
Maybe I will start a black market blue bag business... a little less than Publix, a little more than Walmart. Buy them out of the back of my car.
SoWal Expert
We need to spread the word on this - there are tons of people (like me) who would love to recycle but are completely unaware of this!
So I just buy blue bags at the Publix and the inmates/waste management do the rest?
So I just buy blue bags at the Publix and the inmates/waste management do the rest?
Beach Fanatic
We need to spread the word on this - there are tons of people (like me) who would love to recycle but are completely unaware of this!
So I just buy blue bags at the Publix and the inmates/waste management do the rest?
Yep. Just split it into what you would at the recycling centers and leave it with the rest of your trash.
BTW, "Wally World" (AKA WalMart... hell) has the bags cheaper than Publix. They are about $6.50 for 75 bags. Not as strong as the ones sold at Publix, but if I can get 75 bags for the price of 16 bags at Publix, I am happy.
SoWal Expert
Thanks! I'll get some the next time I go to the store! Someone needs to tell Publix they need an endcap display of these for all the summer folks coming in - just think of the beer and wine bottles alone!
Beach Fanatic
I've been looking for the blue recycling bags at the Watercolor Publix for a few weeks now, but I don't see them. Are they with the other trash bags, or did they run out and not reorder?
needs to get out moreAuthor
when i got mine, they were in the same area as the regular bags, but all the way to the left.
Beach Fanatic
Same at Sandestin Publix & Wal-Mart. I just bought them at Wally-World and when looking at the row, they were on the left side, at the endcap. You have to look for them, they aren't separate. When I first went into Sandestin Publix looking for them, one of the employees even said they didn't carry them, but they did.
Beach Fanatic
I have to double bag my blue bags. Am I defeating the purpose? 
SoWal Expert
Another city I lived in had heavy duty plastic bins (about the size of a laundry basket) w/ dividers, then after several years these were upgraded to heavy duty trash bins w/ wheels and lids. Of course, this was possible because they had a seperate recycling truck that made the same route as the garbage truck.
Hopefully this will be the next step so you won't be double bagging for too long!
If you'd rather not there are recycling bins/centers behind the 395 Publix and by the Goodwill strip mall on 98.
Hopefully this will be the next step so you won't be double bagging for too long!
If you'd rather not there are recycling bins/centers behind the 395 Publix and by the Goodwill strip mall on 98.
Beach Fanatic
Another city I lived in had heavy duty plastic bins (about the size of a laundry basket) w/ dividers, then after several years these were upgraded to heavy duty trash bins w/ wheels and lids. Of course, this was possible because they had a seperate recycling truck that made the same route as the garbage truck.
Hopefully this will be the next step so you won't be double bagging for too long!
If you'd rather not there are recycling bins/centers behind the 395 Publix and by the Goodwill strip mall on 98.
I had to double bag on 1 load last week! I am good at the recycling all I can, not so good at the taking it to a center aspect, so the blue bag system (and hopefully the one Scooterbug mentions above, if we ever get that good at it) works for me!
Beach Fanatic
I had to double bag on 1 load last week! I am good at the recycling all I can, not so good at the taking it to a center aspect, so the blue bag system (and hopefully the one Scooterbug mentions above, if we ever get that good at it) works for me!
That's my issue, as well. I drive a Mini, and I can barely fit one bag in my trunk. I think the blue bags are great, I just wish there were some out there that were a wee bit sturdier.
needs to get out moreAuthor
If you'd rather not there are recycling bins/centers behind the 395 Publix and by the Goodwill strip mall on 98.
scooter, the one on 98 at the strip mall is gone. it is now at the sheriff's old substation, on 393 south of 98. also, there's the one at bay elementary.
Checking your forum account
Please wait while we verify your forum account.