At Whistler, Canada, all film plastics, including plastic bags, are headed for the landfill as of 1 January, 2011.

Nicolette Richer, environmental coordinator for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, explained to council on Tuesday night that the reason behind the decision was due mainly to contamination of the plastic.

All plastics, once they are recycled, are sold to Asia, one of the world's largest buyers of the product. China has a law demanding that all plastic packaging be clean, and if a company is found with contaminated plastic three times, their business license is revoked.

The waste management company for the Resort Municipality of Whistler has found that most of the plastic bags and other film plastics coming through the recycling bins are not clean enough to be resold.

(Source: Plastic bags won't be accepted at recycling centres [Pique])