The state of Arizona has announced a settlement with Reynolds Consumer Products, prohibiting the company from selling “recycling” bags unless they are accepted at a majority of state recycling facilities.
In August 2025, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a lawsuit against Reynolds’ Hefty and Great Value brand bags, alleging the company continues to misrepresent its blue and clear bags as being “ideal” for curbside recycling.
“Companies should not be able to exploit Arizonans’ well-meaning desire to protect the environment,” Mayes previously said. “We won’t allow companies to mislead consumers and imply products sold in our state are recyclable unless they can actually be recycled in Arizona.”
Reynolds must also redesign the packaging of its transparent clear and blue bags to remove any misleading images implying the bags can be used for curbside pickup or placed in municipal recycling bins.
The redesign will be implemented nationwide and will include removing recyclable contents from images of the clear or blue bags and clearly state on the packaging: “These Bags Are Not Recyclable.”
Reynolds must pay $30,000 in restitution as well as $157,000 in a payment to the state and $25,000 in costs and attorneys’ fees.
The original complaint alleged that the company sold transparent blue and clear “recycling” bags throughout the state with packaging suggesting the bags could be used for general recycling. In reality, these bags are not recyclable in Arizona and could cause otherwise-recyclable material placed inside them to be diverted to a landfill.
The bags could also become entangled in MRF equipment, forcing facility shutdowns, it was noted.
While other states have filed similar consumer fraud lawsuits and reached settlements with Reynolds — and the company has made some incremental packaging changes — the company had never before removed the image of the bag containing recyclables or explicitly stated on the front of its packaging that the bags are not recyclable.
