Multiple lawsuits over the past five years have challenged claims over the recyclability of the company’s plastic garbage bags. | ADragan/Shutterstock
Reynolds Consumer Products is facing a new lawsuit from the Arizona attorney general regarding its Hefty and Great Value brand bags.
Attorney General Kris Mayes said the company continues to misrepresent its blue and clear bags as being “ideal” for curbside recycling.
“Corporate greed was prioritized over being honest to consumers,” said Mayes in a press release. “Reynolds lied on the packaging, misled Arizonans, and profited off of well-meaning consumers who simply wanted to protect our state by recycling. Companies who ‘greenwash’ will be held accountable by my office.”
The Lake Forest, Illinois-based manufacturer has been the subject of litigation questioning the marketing advertising tactics used to promote the recyclability of its polyethylene trash bags. In 2023, the company reached a multimillion-dollar settlement in one class-action suit.
The new suit claims that since 2019, Reynolds has “prominently labeled” its products as recyclable, despite facing claims in other states including Minnesota, Connecticut and California.
While denying the allegations, the company again implemented new packaging language in 2022, keeping images commonly related to recycling.
Reynolds rebranded its “Recycling” bags to “Clear” or “Blue” bags in 2024, but the packaging states that bags are “Developed for use in participating municipal programs only” and “Transparent for quick and easy sorting,” yet still lists the bags under its “Sustainable Solutions” tab of its website.
“In reality, the products labeled ‘ideal for collecting recyclable materials’ only contribute to the plastics problem and likely reroute otherwise recyclable products into landfills,” Mayes said. “These ‘greenwashing’ practices exploit consumers who prioritize sustainability and limiting their environmental impact, and they are completely unacceptable in Arizona.”
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