The two companies will stop selling products in Minnesota for two and a half years, can re-enter the market only if bags are clearly marked as non-recyclable, and will pay more than $200,000.
Walmart and Reynolds Consumer Products have reached settlements with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office in a lawsuit over marketing language for bags labeled as “recycling bags.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued the companies in June 2023, saying that not only were the bags themselves not recyclable, but also they rendered all materials in them unrecyclable, according to a press release.
Neither company will sell the bags in Minnesota for two and a half years, according to the terms of the settlement. And if the companies decide to sell them in Minnesota after that period, they cannot use the term “recycling bags” in packaging and marketing and must conspicuously state that “these bags are not recyclable.”
In addition, Reynolds and Walmart will pay a collective $216,670, which includes the profits they made in selling the bags along with the state’s attorney fees and other costs. Reynolds further agreed to develop and enforce anti-greenwashing training and to establish a review process for marketing claims, the state said in the press release.
In addition to the harm the bags caused to consumer intentions to recycle, bags that enter a MRF could cause equipment malfunction and subsequent fires or other dangerous work conditions, the state said.
“Minnesotans have one of the highest recycling rates in America because we love our clean land, air and water,” Ellison said in the press release. “I’m pleased that Reynolds and Walmart, who profited from Minnesotans’ good intentions, have agreed to stop marketing so-called ‘recycling’ bags to us that can’t be recycled and will disgorge the profits they made off those bags.
“Any other companies thinking about greenwashing their products to market them deceptively to Minnesotans should know by now that I will not hesitate to hold them accountable under the law.”
Katie Drews, co-president and CEO of Minneapolis-based Eureka Recycling, which provides recycling services for several municipalities in the metro area, said it is “essential that brands take responsibility for the waste they produce and the claims they make about their products, particularly concerning their recyclability and environmental impact.”
“Consumers genuinely want to make the right purchasing decisions, but they can be misled by false marketing claims,” Drews added. “This settlement is a vital step toward ensuring transparency and integrity in the marketplace, protecting our recycling systems from contamination and empowering consumers to make informed decisions that truly benefit the environment.”
In 2023, Reynolds agreed in a settlement with private parties to change advertising language and pay up to $4 million, settling one of multiple lawsuits alleging its marketing of the bags was illegal. A similar suit in Connecticut was filed in 2022.
Using courts to encourage accountability
The Minnesota suit is just one of many instances of states using legal action to hold brand owners accountable for various issues plastic waste may cause.
The City of Baltimore is suing PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and other companies for plastic pollution, and the New York state attorney general is suing PepsiCo for river pollution.
In California, three residents sued Tom’s of Maine and Colgate-Palmolive for recyclability claims made about toothpaste tubes. Beverage company Keurig Dr Pepper also has come under fire for recycling claims regarding its coffee pods, and it continues to try to make them more recyclable. The company settled two suits in 2022 for a combined total of nearly $13 million.
And in July 2024, the Center for International Environmental Law released a report detailing how local governments can pursue compensation for the effects of plastic pollution, mostly via legal action against plastic producers and brand owners.
The report, which describes the effects of plastic production and pollution, provides “the legal tools necessary to hold plastic producers and fast-moving consumer goods companies accountable for the harm they cause,” according to a CIEL press release.
“This report is a call to action, equipping local governments in the United States with the knowledge to initiate meaningful legal challenges that can lead to substantial reforms and ensure corporate accountability,” the organization said in a written statement.
The American Chemistry Council, an industry group that includes plastic manufacturers, said the CIEL report encouraged legal action against the plastics industry. The report “is a disappointing and misdirected distraction from the significant research and investments in product design, collection and recycling infrastructure plastic makers are making to help prevent plastic pollution,” Ross Eisenberg, president of the ACC’s plastics division, wrote in an email.