Bread bags are most commonly made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which the Society of the Plastics Industries, Inc. has coded as plastic types 2 and 4. Municipalities and facilities that participate in the bread bag recycling process will indicate whether or not these types of plastics are acceptable for their programs. Check your bread bags to see what type of plastic they are made from; the number is usually indicated in small print.
Check with your local municipality to see whether or not bread bags can be recycled in your regular recycling bins, if your community has a curbside recycling program. Some communities, like Emmet County, Michigan, allow residents to set their bread and other plastic bags out with their weekly recycling.
Call your local grocery stores, or simply look for plastic bag recycling bins near the doors the next time you are grocery shopping. Many grocery stores now offer bins to recycle bread bags and plastic shopping bags.
Find new uses for your bread bags around the house, such as for picking up dog waste, using them to create miniature greenhouses over your seedlings if you garden, using them as packing material or even for packing a sandwich. If you clean your bread bags afterward and your community or grocery store has a recycling program, you can still recycle your bread bags when you are done using them for a second time.