Goodwill Industries of San Diego County is expanding its environmental efforts with a new initiative aimed at one of the region’s most persistent waste challenges: soft plastics.
The nonprofit, which has operated in the region since 1930, is now accepting clean, dry soft plastics at select donation centers across San Diego and Imperial counties. The materials — often not accepted in curbside recycling — will be diverted from landfills and processed into usable products through a specialized recycling partner.
Soft plastics include items such as grocery and retail bags, plastic film and wrap, bubble wrap, air pillows, newspaper sleeves, and certain types of packaging overwrap. Because of their flexible composition, these materials frequently escape traditional recycling systems and can end up polluting landfills and waterways.
Goodwill officials said the initiative grew out of an opportunity to responsibly divert increasing amounts of soft plastics already arriving at donation centers while supporting the organization’s broader sustainability goals.
“We noticed an increase in soft plastics coming in with donations because donors use plastic bags to drop off items,” said Darlene Cossio, director of marketing and communications for Goodwill San Diego. “We identified an opportunity to continue to be environmentally responsible by diverting those materials and by partnering with a vendor that repurposes soft plastics.”
Cossio said the organization partnered with a recycling vendor that transforms the materials into durable products.
“By partnering with a vendor that repurposes soft plastics into durable products like decking and patio furniture, we expanded the program to collect even more soft plastics from the community and keep these materials out of the landfill,” she said.
Once collected, the soft plastics are sorted and baled before being sent to a recycling partner for processing into products such as outdoor decking and patio furniture.
Soft plastics present unique challenges for traditional curbside recycling systems because they can interfere with sorting equipment.
“Soft plastics can interfere with sorting equipment at recycling facilities, which is why they are often excluded from traditional programs,” Cossio said. “When collected separately and handled correctly, however, these materials can be recycled efficiently without disrupting recycling operations.”
Community members are encouraged to bring only clean and dry materials. Items must be free of food residue and moisture to ensure they can be properly processed.
“We ask community members to bring in clean, dry, and flexible plastic materials,” Cossio said. “Wet or soiled soft plastics can contaminate other donations and often cannot be recycled, which may increase operational costs.”
She added that one of the most common mistakes people make is placing rigid plastics into the recycling stream.
“The most common challenge is bringing in materials that are wet, dirty, or not truly a flexible plastic,” she said. “To help ensure the program’s success, we encourage donors to only bring clean, dry, and stretchy plastic materials and to avoid including rigid plastics or non-recyclable items.”
Goodwill locations in East County include: El Cajon
•Goodwill Retail Store & Donation Center, 420 N. 2nd St.
•Goodwill Donation Center, 2650 Jamacha Road
•Goodwill Donation Center, 13588 Camino Canada
La Mesa
•Goodwill Retail Store, 8250 La Mesa Blvd.
• Goodwill Donation Center, 3713 Avocado Blvd.
