Ban on trashing plastic bottles takes effect Thursday

A new law taking effect Oct. 1 bans plastic bottles from landfills as a way to encourage recycling and reduce the amount of trash in the ground.

Chris Frazier with the Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance said state regulators won't rummage through people's trash. Some local government sanitation departments have said they won't pick up trash that contains plastic bottles.

Dee Freeman, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said the new law could create jobs for those who collect, process and recycle the banned materials back into a wide range of products.

“Recycling is a proven job creator in North Carolina and if we do our best to recycle the newly banned materials, we will not only grow businesses in the state, but also protect disposal capacity, recover valuable resources, save energy and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.