Since Obaggo doesn't operate any of the retail store take-back locations, I can't credibly say what happens at any particular one. The locations that we include on our lookup directory are operated by Trex, the nations biggest consumer of plastic bags and film, so the material should be getting collected. The studies that you mention found that several large retailers, Walmart and Target I believe, were the ones where the transponders ended up in landfill. But it was never clear if the transponders were found in the bags and discarded, or whether the bags and the transponders were discarded. Either way, Trex stopped working with those retailers, and they are not on our list either.

Sorry for the bad news. Maybe in trace amounts it wouldn't be bad, but biodegradability is still a contaminant to the recycling process, so hard to say that it is recyclable. The biodegradable plastic industry would like people to think it's recyclable, but it is just not compatible with biodegradable.

Hi Gwyneth, thanks for your question. I had to look up what D2W plastic is, and I found that "D2W is a type of biodegradable plastic technology that uses an additive to accelerate the degradation of plastic products. This additive, when exposed to oxygen and UV light, breaks down the plastic into smaller particles, making it more susceptible to biodegradation by microorganisms, ultimately converting it into natural substances like water, carbon dioxide, and biomass." So by this definition, it is not a desirable material to have in an Obaggo disk. Biodegradable plastics pose a real threat to plastic recycling, since they are very hard to distinguish the difference, and the resultant plastic resin now has biodegrading properties that are almost always considered undesirable.

Generally, yes, plastic film should be as clean and dry as possible before recycling. It is very hard to remove contaminants. When washing up after a meal, I will sometimes wash the dirty plastic packaging film in with the dirty dishwater. Try not to waste water, but try to get the bags clean if you can. However, some of those types of plastic that you mention, unfortunately, aren't recyclable and should just be disposed of in the garbage. Most frozen food bags are not recyclable, with the exception of some frozen peas and corn bags (sometimes they show the #4 with chasing arrows, but often not). The stiff, multi-layer, shiny bags are not recyclable. Shredded cheese bags are multi-layer pouches and not recyclable. The shrink wrap over store baked chicken isn't recyclable, it's made from PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride, and PVC isn't recyclable anywhere. Also, the protein contamination from the chicken is very difficult to clean but that is not relevant here.

The best things you can do to minimize how much the plastic disks stick to the heating plates, and to clean the inks off, are: 1. Clean with any lubricant, such as 3-in-1 oil applied to a rag or paper towel, WD40 or Silicone Spray lube (also applied to towel first) 2. Rubbing 3-in-1 oil into the lower silicone pad will help reduce adhesion, and clean off inks 3. When choosing the outer plastic bag when making your Obaggo, choose a thicker, higher-density plastic, like a cereal box liner or Amazon prime blue/white shipping envelope 4. If there are inks on the outer layer, turn it inside out, so the inks are facing inwards Thanks for the feedback. So glad it's working like a champ!

There were several high-profile stories in the news last year, where news organizations placed radio-transmitters into the retail store drop-off bins at Walmart and Target, and the radio transmitters ended up at landfills. However, these were not retail stores part of the Trex network, and Trex does not do business with these companies because of this problem. We only list locations that are part of the Trex network on www.Obaggo.com. If you ask retail store managers about the recycling of bags, they will almost always say, "we are in the grocery business, not the recycling business". This is the fundamental problem with retail store drop-off, and why Obaggo is working towards an alternative solution.

Thanks for letting us know, Lisa, that's fantastic! Note to everyone else: please don't try that at home 😀

Awesome! Thanks so much!

My guess is they would say this about all plastic bags and packaging film, not just bubble wrap. If you go to the Trex web page that lists some of the acceptable materials, they do specify bubble wrap. All About Plastic Recycling | NexTrex

Yes! All bubble wrap that I've encountered is recyclable, and Obaggoable! It is best if you try to pop as many of the bubbles as possible, otherwise you won't get very much into the device. And also, the device doesn't heat or compress enough to pop the bubbles, so you don't get much density unless you pop them first.