Mecklenburg County adds plastic bags and wraps drop-off recycling at centers countywide for residents

What is changing

Mecklenburg County Solid Waste and Recycling has begun accepting plastic bags, wraps and similar “plastic film” for recycling drop-off at county recycling facilities, expanding what residents can recycle beyond the standard curbside list. The change applies to the county’s four full-service recycling and disposal centers as well as the staffed recycling center inside William R. Davie Park.

The expansion targets materials that are widely used but typically excluded from curbside carts in Mecklenburg County, where residents have long been told not to place plastic bags or film in household recycling bins. Plastic film can tangle sorting equipment and can lead to contamination when recyclables are bagged.

Where residents can take plastic bags and wraps

County-operated drop-off options fall into several categories, but plastic-film acceptance is tied to locations that handle “enhanced recycling.” Full-service recycling and disposal centers operate Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The staffed William R. Davie center operates Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is closed Wednesdays and Sundays.

Mecklenburg County does not pick up recycling at the curb; curbside collection is handled by the City of Charlotte or the towns, while county facilities process materials and operate drop-off sites.

What is accepted—and what still belongs in the trash

Plastic film recycling programs generally require clean and dry material to reduce contamination. Residents should not place film in curbside carts and should avoid sending items that contain food residue, paper layers or mixed materials that cannot be separated.

• Accepted: clean, dry plastic shopping bags, retail bags, and certain wraps and packaging film typically used around household goods.
• Not accepted in curbside carts: plastic bags, plastic wrap and plastic film; recyclables should not be placed in plastic bags.
• Common problem items: packaging that tears like paper, multilayer pouches, and wrappers with significant residue or mixed materials.

Plastic bags and film have historically been excluded from curbside recycling in Mecklenburg County because they can jam processing equipment and create safety issues for workers.

How this fits into Mecklenburg’s broader “enhanced recycling” system

The county has been expanding drop-off options for materials that are not collected curbside. Enhanced recycling offerings at county sites include items such as shredded paper, textiles, books, white rigid foam, rechargeable batteries and food-scrap compost drop-off at select locations. The addition of plastic film positions bags and wraps alongside these specialized streams, which depend on residents sorting items correctly before arriving at a facility.

Residents are encouraged to prepare plastic film by keeping it clean, dry and free of non-plastic attachments, and to keep regular recyclables loose in carts rather than bagged, to improve processing at the county’s materials recovery system.