Reduce Plastic Waste by Dry Cleaning Your Garment Bag
Every spring I dry clean a dozen of my winter coats. By the time I put them back in the closet, I already had enough barely used plastic to wrap my entire apartment.
If you are someone who has your clothes dry cleaned every month or even a week, this plastic waste can build up pretty quickly.
Typical dry cleaning plastic is usually made from low density polyethylene or # 4 plastic, the kind you can find in shopping bags, bread bags, or shrink wrap, often called “wrap” rather than a bag. And because of its flexibility, this is the type of plastic that jams on recycling machines and must be removed manually by the workers. For this reason, your curbside recycling program does not usually accept this plastic (although you can search the Internet for your local program’s rules).
But if you’re trying to cut down on plastic waste, there is a simple solution: On your next dry cleaning trip, take a bag of clothes to be cleaned with you and ask them to return them in their original bag. Dry cleaning will often accept it in place of plastic sheeting.
If you’re looking for an easy-to- carry garment bag, Green Garmento can be used as an eco-friendly clothing and gym bag – or just take any bag you already have in your closet with you. It’s also worth bringing your own hanger to save you unnecessary wire hanger. (Many dry cleaners will also happily accept them for reuse.)
Find on the Internet the green dry cleaner closest to you; they often prefer to fold their clothes into reusable bags or clothing bags.
And if you still can’t get past your plastic dry cleaning habit, use Earth 911’s finder locator to find the nearest store or facility that will accept your # 4 plastic. Stores like Home Depot and Safeway often have bins for this type of plastic, so you might feel a little less guilty about the laundry waste.