PRINCETON -- There's some under the sink, a few in the garage, probably some in the car. Wadded up and stuffed one inside the other, plastic bags are everywhere -- and not easily recyclable. But now help is on the way.
The Princeton Merchants Association is teaming up with businesses, nonprofits and the town to collect plastic bags for recycling.
McCaffrey's and the Princeton University Store are currently the only stores with bins for customers to drop off their bags, but 10 new containers will be placed at convenient locations around town as part of the new initiative.
Other participants include the Whole Earth Center, Craft Cleaners, Sustainable Princeton, the Princeton Senior Resource Center and the municipality.
The ABC's campaign encourages businesses to "Ask First" if customers need a bag, residents to "Bring Your Own Bag" and everyone to "Collect and Recycle" plastic bags.
Shoppers will be invited to deposit plastic shopping bags as well as newspaper bags, bread bags, food storage bags and other plastic film such as dry-cleaning bags and case overwrap.
"We really need to think about the entire class of bags, not just the yellow ones because they're an easy target," said John Marshall, president of the Princeton Merchants Association.
McCaffrey's will collect the plastic and turn it over to Trex Recycling, which will use it to make weatherproof decking and other products.
The initiative follows an effort by residents who want to charge 10 cents for single-use paper and plastic shopping bags.
While Mercer County voters in November overwhelmingly rejected a non-binding referendum calling for a 5-cent fee for disposable plastic shopping bags, Princeton voters were in favor of the charge. After doing some research, Princeton's attorney concluded that the town could impose a 10-cent fee on bags if the purpose was to reduce litter on town streets and in storm drains.
"Those of us in the merchants community always prefer 'the less is more' moniker," Marshall said. "Voluntary efforts to solve problems are not only much more satisfying but they involve the community in proactive ways."
He said educating customers and providing them with a place to properly dispose of the bags is just as important as helping to reduce consumption.
"No matter what Princeton does, we can't stop patrons from leaving the municipality and shopping elsewhere and still introducing these bags to our community," he said. "Charging a fee discourages their use, but it didn't address the full cycle. We want to address the entire thing."
In an effort to encourage at-home recycling, McCaffrey's will also be selling BagSavR receptacles for people to use to collect plastics and bring back to any drop-off container.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.