Are paper bags recyclable?.
Most paper bags go in the recycling bin. The exceptions all carry a second material: a plastic film, a rope handle, glitter, or grease soaked into the paper. This page shows which is which, what happens to a bag after collection, and how to order bags that recycle whole.
The short answerYes. Plain paper bags go in household recycling in the US, the UK and Australia, including brown kraft bags and gift bags with paper handles. Four kinds do not: laminated bags with a plastic film, bags soaked in grease, wax-coated bags, and bags with glitter, foil or bows. Cut off rope, ribbon or plastic handles first, and put the bag in the bin empty and loose.
Which paper bags can be recycled?
Any plain paper bag can be recycled once it is empty, with or without paper handles. Household recycling in the US, the UK and Australia takes them:
- United States: AF&PA, the paper industry body, lists paper grocery, pharmacy and lunch bags, flour and sugar bags, and gift bags with paper handles.
- England: from 31 March 2026, every council must collect paper and card from every household, flats included.
- Australia: councils take paper bags in the yellow lid recycling bin, among them the City of Monash in Victoria, which lists them by name.
Paper handles stay on
Kraft paper with twisted paper handles is one material, so the whole bag goes in the paper recycling.
No handles at all
An SOS bag is kraft from base to top. Flatten it and the whole bag goes in.
Rope handles come off
The kraft recycles and the jute rope does not. Cut the handles off and the bag goes in.
Check your council
Coated paper under a plastic film, with ribbon handles. Most household schemes do not take the film.
| Bag | What to do |
|---|---|
| Kraft bag with paper handles | Recycle it whole. Empty it and put it in the paper or mixed recycling, loose. |
| SOS bag with no handles | Recycle it whole, the same way. |
| Kraft bag with rope or ribbon handles | Cut the handles off, then recycle the bag. |
| Laminated paper bag | Not in most household schemes, because the plastic film is bonded to the paper. Check your council's list. |
| Gift bag with glitter, foil or bows | Keep it out. AF&PA lists paper bags with glitter, foil or bows as not recyclable. |
| Bag soaked in grease or food | Keep it out. Paper soaked in food or grease is on the same list. |
| Wax-coated paper bag | Keep it out. Wax-coated paper is not recyclable either. |
| Paper bag full of other recycling | Empty it. Recycling goes in the bin loose, and the empty bag goes in on its own. |
Do you need to remove the handles before recycling?
Only when they are not paper. Twisted paper, flat paper and braided paper cord handles stay on, so the bag goes in whole. A die cut handle is a hole in the bag itself. Rope, ribbon and fabric tape are a second material, so cut them off first.
| Handle | Before recycling |
|---|---|
| Twisted or flat paper | Leave it on |
| Braided paper cord | Leave it on |
| Die cut | Nothing to remove |
| Cotton, jute or PP rope | Cut it off |
| Satin or grosgrain ribbon | Cut it off |
| Cotton herringbone tape | Cut it off |
Our guide to paper bag handle types shows each one up close, with the load it carries.
Are paper gift bags recyclable?
A plain paper gift bag with paper handles is. AF&PA lists paper gift bags with paper handles as recyclable, and paper bags with glitter, foil or bows as not.
A laminated gift bag is a different product: coated paper under a plastic film, with ribbon or rope handles. Most household schemes do not take the film, and the handles are a second material. Check your council's list, or reuse the bag: a laminated bag is built to be carried more than once.
Are brown paper bags recyclable?
Yes. A brown paper bag is uncoated kraft paper, and it goes in household recycling empty and loose. Clean brown grocery, lunch and takeaway bags all count. The one thing that stops a brown bag is grease or food soaked into the paper.
How are paper bags recycled?
A paper bag becomes new paper in five steps, the same as any paper in the recycling bin.
- Collection: the bag goes out with the paper or mixed household recycling.
- Sorting: at a materials recovery facility, paper is separated from the rest and pressed into bales.
- Pulping: at the paper mill, a pulper mixes the paper with water and churns it back into fibre. AF&PA compares it to a giant blender.
- Cleaning: screens take out tape, labels and staples, and the fibre is cleaned again.
- New paper: the clean fibre is formed into rolls of recycled paper.
In the US, nearly half of all paper recycled in 2025 went into containerboard, the material cardboard boxes are made from. Recycled paper also goes back into paper bags.
How many times can paper be recycled?
Paper fibre can be recycled 25 times or more: that is what a 2021 Graz University of Technology study found on uncoated cartonboard. In practice, a fibre in Europe went through 4.2 recycling cycles on average in 2025, against a world average of 3 in 2024. Both averages come from the European Paper Recycling Council.
The Graz study found no loss of strength after 25 cycles. Its authors put the real limit on collection, and on fibre lost in cleaning. Pro Carton, the European cartonboard association, calls the old figure of four to seven times a common myth.
How much paper gets recycled?
Europe recycled 76.4% of the paper and board it consumed in 2025, and the US 61% to 65% of the paper available for recovery. Paper is the most recycled packaging material in the EU.
| Where | Recycled |
|---|---|
| Europe | 76.4% of all paper and board consumed in 2025, across the EU, the UK, Norway and Switzerland |
| EU paper packaging | 87% in 2023, more than any other packaging material |
| United States | 61% to 65% of the paper available for recovery in 2025, and 70% to 75% of cardboard: about 45 million tons |
Europe's paper industry committed to a 76% recycling rate by 2030, and has already passed it.
Are paper bags compostable?
Plain paper bags are. The US EPA lists shredded brown bags as a carbon-rich "brown" for a home compost heap. Tear or shred the bag first, so it breaks down faster.
A laminated bag does not compost, because the plastic film stays behind. A certified compostable bag is a different product: a compostable film tested to EN 13432. Our compostable bag guide explains the difference.
How to order paper bags that recycle whole
Keep the bag to one material and your customers can recycle it without a second thought. These choices do it:
- Uncoated kraft, brown or white, with no laminated film.
- Twisted paper handles, or a die cut handle, so nothing has to come off.
- Ink for the logo, or embossing and debossing, which use no ink at all.
- Kraft with 40% or 50% post-consumer recycled fibre, and FSC certified paper, both on request.
- The recycling marks your market asks for, printed with your design.
Hot foil is the one to think about. A 2020 Georgia Tech study for the foil industry found foil stamped paper repulps without problems. AF&PA's household list is stricter and keeps bags with foil accents out of the bin. If every bin has to take your bag, choose ink or a deboss.
Rules are moving the same way. California stores may hand out only recycled paper bags, and from 2030 every bag in the EU must reach a recyclability grade. Our plastic bag bans guide has the rule for each market.
The bags this applies to: the Kraft Paper Bag and the SOS Paper Bag.
Sources
Each figure and rule on this page comes from the source below, read in October 2026.
Questions
Can you recycle paper bags with handles?
Yes. Paper handles stay on and go in with the bag. Cut off rope, ribbon and fabric tape handles first, because they are a second material.
Are laminated paper bags recyclable?
Not in most household schemes, because the plastic film is bonded to the paper. Check your council's list, and choose uncoated kraft where recycling matters.
Are greasy paper bags recyclable?
No, not once grease or food has soaked into the paper. The US paper industry lists paper soaked in food or grease as not recyclable.
Should I put my recycling in a paper bag?
No. Recycling goes in the bin loose. Sorting facilities cannot process bagged items, even in paper bags, so empty the bag and put it in on its own.
Are paper bags biodegradable?
Plain paper bags are. Paper is plant fibre and breaks down in a compost heap, faster when it is torn up. A laminated bag is the exception, because its plastic film does not.
Is a foil stamped paper bag recyclable?
At the mill, yes: a 2020 Georgia Tech study found foil stamped paper repulps without problems. US household guidance is stricter and lists bags with foil accents as not recyclable.
Can recycled paper be made into new paper bags?
Yes. Paper bags are among the products made from recycled paper. Our kraft and SOS bags come with 40% or 50% post-consumer recycled fibre on request.
Written by the Bag Bureau production team. Last updated October 2026.