Ocean County’s Department of Solid Waste Management regularly reminds area residents and vacationers that plastic bags, wrap and film cannot be placed in curbside recycling, as these materials hamper single-stream sorting efficiency, and can damage the processing equipment. The machinery at the county’s recycling center in Lakewood jams consistently because of bags and other unacceptable plastics mixed in with the recyclables.

County Commissioner Gary Quinn, liaison to the county’s recycling program, pointed out, “Plastic bags have created…