Another One Bites the Dust!
In yet another chapter of the tall tale that plastics are recyclable, Hefty has announced it will phase out its ReNew Orange Bag Program. This program entailed consumers collecting and returning hard-to-recycle plastics in yet another plastic container, an orange plastic bag manufactured and sold by Hefty through participating retailers. In short…Hefty was trying to make a profit selling a plastic bag, which cannot be recycled, that consumers purchased to collect hard-to-recycle plastics for recycling, but the recycled plastics had no end markets to sell to???
“While participation has remained strong, the recycling infrastructure needed to consistently manage such a broad range of materials and align with community preferences has not developed at the pace or scale anticipated,” Hefty said. “As a result, Reynolds Consumer Products has made the decision to responsibly phase out the Hefty ReNew Program. This decision reflects the challenges of operating a program with such a broad material scope at the scale envisioned and does not diminish the commitment and enthusiasm shown by participating communities and residents.” Decoded, this means, it is really really hard and not profitable to recycle plastics. Yep we knew that!
On top of everything, the Hefty bags had been subject to numerous lawsuits, most recently ending in a $212,000 settlement with the Arizona attorney general over claims that the bags themselves were recyclable. Another example of greenwashing by the petrochemical industry.
Luckily, Cook County never adopted this program, so this announcement will not affect the Chicagoland area.
As you look forward to your end of summer celebrations this Labor Day weekend, remember single-use plastic foodware items are not recyclable. Look to alternatives like reusables and renewables (bamboo/paper) over anything plastic, and never, never use polystyrene foam for serving food.
Additionally, watch for Action Alerts in the forthcoming months as LWV Chicago continues our efforts to get the statewide ban on the sale and distribution of polystyrene foam foodware (SB1531 effective 1/2030) over the finish line before the end of the year. We have also been actively working with Alderman Matt Martin on a city ordinance to ban the purchase of polystyrene foam foodware in City Departments in 2027…stay tuned!
Want to take a more active role in environmental actions? Join our next Environmental Action Committee meeting on September 14 at 4:30 pm and find out what policies we are advocating for at the city and state level. Email us at environment@lwvchicago.org for the Zoom link.