Are Plastic Bags Actually Recyclable? What the Bag Makers Could Not Prove (2026)
The short answer
You carried the bags back to the store because the bag told you to. The state says the makers could not show how many ever got recycled.
The state checked 69 recycling sites. Two said they took plastic bags. Neither could say the bags were ever recycled.
What this guide answers
What else in your kitchen came with a promise printed on the front?
The free 3 minute scan goes room by room. It tells you what to deal with first. No cost, no call.
Take the free home scanWhat did the bag makers promise you?
Quick answer: that the bag would get recycled if you brought it back to a store.
You have knelt on the kitchen floor with the cabinet door open. Out came every bag you saved since spring. You stuffed them all into one big bag and hung it on the pantry door.
The next day your knees felt it. You did it anyway, because you were raised not to waste.
You wanted that trip to count.
Now look at what the bag makers printed on the bag.
The state's lawsuit shows a Novolex bag sold in California. In bold capital letters it says, "PLEASE RETURN TO A PARTICIPATING STORE FOR RECYCLING."
Under that, in tiny print, it says, "Programs may not exist in your area."
And so the promise was in big letters and the catch was in small ones.
California banned thin checkout bags in 2016. Stores could still sell thicker ones for at least 10 cents.
The law allowed them only if they could be recycled in the state. The makers told the state their bags passed.
Then the state asked them to prove it.
Where do the bags go after the store bin?
Quick answer: the state says most are never recycled, in California or anywhere else.
California started looking into the bag makers in November 2022. It sent subpoenas. Those are orders to hand over records.
The state says the makers could not show how many bags got recycled at their own plants. And it says they could not show what share of their California bags got recycled at all.
Then the state checked 69 recycling sites. Only two said they took plastic bags, "but could not confirm the bags were, in fact, recycled."
And the bin by the store's front door? The complaint says most bags dropped in those bins "are not recycled, in California or anywhere else."
It says they end up in landfills or burned, or they get shipped to other countries.
You carried them into the store on your hip, on knees that hurt. The state says that trip did not count the way the bag promised.
And so the next bag of bags can stay home. Set it down by the door. I will show you what to do with it.
Why could they print "recyclable" at all?
Quick answer: the makers signed off on their own bags as recyclable.
There is a national guide for that word. It comes from the FTC, which polices false ads.
The fewer people who can recycle it, the louder the warning is supposed to be.
A tiny line under a big bold one is not much of a warning. The big letters did their job, and you believed them like anybody would.
Here is the whole case in one place.
| What happened | The concern | Named authority and date | What it does NOT mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bags told you to return them to a store for recycling | The state says they were not recyclable in California | California Attorney General, complaint, October 2025 | Novolex says one of its plants remakes some bags |
| 69 recycling sites checked | Two said they took bags, and neither could confirm recycling | California Attorney General, January 2026 | Not a count of every site in the country |
| Makers asked for proof by subpoena | No records of how many bags got recycled | California Attorney General, January 2026 | Not a court finding of guilt |
| Novolex, Inteplast and Mettler settle | Agreed to pay $3.35 million | Settlement announced January 2026 | No company admitted wrongdoing |
The case against my own story
Quick answer: three fair points, and they are all true.
One. Nobody admitted anything. The court papers say the deal "shall not constitute an admission of wrongdoing or liability."
Two. Some bags do get recycled. The complaint says Novolex runs a plant in Indiana. Novolex says it has turned store bin bags into new bags there since at least 2020.
Three. This case is about California's own law. It is not a finding that no bag is ever recycled anywhere.
So why does it still sit wrong with me?
Because the promise went on the bag in capital letters. When the state asked for the records behind it, the makers had none to give, the state says.
And you were never the only one saving them. The complaint says these three makers sold more than 4.3 billion of these bags to California stores since 2016.
What do I carry my groceries in instead?
Quick answer: a cloth bag you already own, washed and used for years.
Start with the trip you make every week. That is the one that fills the drawer.
Keep two cloth bags on the hook by the back door. Put them back in the car when you unload. Wash them like a dish towel when they get grubby.
For food, my answer never changes. Find a local farm and get to know the farmer. Carry what they grow home in a basket.
Use up the plastic bags you already have. Line a small trash can with them until they tear.
Do not put them in the blue bin at home. The complaint says most California sorting plants turn them away. Bags get caught in the machines.
Here is what a cloth bag will not do. It will not clean up the ocean. It will only stop the cabinet under your sink from filling back up.
The rest of your house is what Switch to America is for. We are a private membership store and the manufacturer. No middlemen, no markup.
Do the small thing first. Tonight, take the bag of bags off the pantry door. Hang a cloth one in its place.
Shannon's Advice
Straight talk from ShannonI do not call them grocery stores. They are poison centers meant to do you and your family harm. It is not just the brands who are doing the harm, it is the stores themselves. They allow these toxic products on their shelves. People are sick and dying. This is a very serious matter. How can we ever trust them again?
We can't trust them. That is where Switch to America comes in. We are a new supply chain, built on family values, trust and affordability.
You do not have to take my word for it. The proof is in my blog posts, the recalls, the lawsuits and the fines, and in the app I built called The Family Home Toxic Scorecard. Also, inside my Switch Circle private community, we talk about real solutions.
Women come to me exhausted, in pain, stressed out, and on a list of prescriptions they never wanted. I have spent over 20 years helping women get off prescription medications. I help families reclaim their health.
We cannot stop them. I have stopped expecting to. However, we can stop walking into their stores. We are linking arms and together taking our control back. Control of our health and our finances.
Start by clicking the link below and taking the SCAN.
The receipts
- California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, press release, January 2026. Novolex Holdings, LLC agreed to pay $1,650,000, Inteplast Group Corporation $1,000,000 and Mettler Packaging LLC $700,000 over allegations that they sold non-recyclable bags as recyclable. The state says that under subpoena, the makers could not show how many bags were recycled. Of 69 sites surveyed, two said they took bags and could not confirm recycling. By the state's account, the promise on your bag had no records behind it.
- California Department of Justice, press release, October 2025. Four other bag makers settled for $1,753,000 and agreed to stop selling plastic bags in California. The same day, the state sued Novolex, Inteplast and Mettler. That is the day the bag's promise went to court.
- Complaint, The People of the State of California v. Novolex Holdings, LLC, et al., San Francisco Superior Court, filed October 2025. The state alleges the three sold more than 4.3 billion plastic carryout bags to California stores since 2016. It alleges most bags left in store bins end up in landfills or incinerators or are shipped abroad. These are allegations, not court findings. It is the bin you trusted.
- Stipulation for entry of final judgment on consent, San Francisco Superior Court, Case No. CGC-25-630237. The companies settled without admitting any fact or liability. Inteplast and Mettler agreed to stop selling these bags to California stores. No judge ever ruled on the claims.
- FTC Green Guides, 16 CFR 260.12, recyclable claims. A plain "recyclable" claim is meant only for things at least 60 percent of people can recycle. Anything less needs a clear warning. The guide covers the whole country, not only California.
Three minutes, room by room
The free scan tells you what to fix first and what to use instead. It is the smallest first step there is.
Take the free home scanWhat else do people ask?
Can I put plastic bags in my recycling bin at home?
In California, mostly no. The state's complaint says most sorting plants there turn them away. Anywhere else, call your trash company and ask.
Did the bag makers get in trouble?
They settled. In January 2026, Novolex, Inteplast and Mettler agreed to pay California $3.35 million. None of them admitted wrongdoing.
Are plastic bags banned in California now?
At the checkout, yes. Since January 2026, a law called SB 1053 stops stores from handing you a plastic carryout bag. Stores offer recycled paper bags, or you bring your own.
What do I do with the bags I already saved?
Use them up. Line a small trash can with them until they tear. Keep them out of the blue bin.
Who do you become?
Finally, the cabinet under your sink has room in it again.
There is no bag of bags on the pantry door. A cloth bag hangs on the hook. It still smells a little like last week's apples.
You come in from the car and unpack the carrots and bread onto the counter. Nothing gets saved for a trip that goes nowhere.
You become someone whose careful habits actually count. It took one cloth bag on a hook.