Hefty ReNew^™ Program FAQs

The Hefty ReNew^™ Program provides a simple, convenient solution for hard-to-recycle plastics such as plastic utensils, candy wrappers, pet food bags, and foam takeout containers that would otherwise be thrown away. The program is an easy addition to your current recycling routine, keeps these plastics out of landfills, and converts the materials into valued resources. By participating, you are helping reduce dependence on fossil fuels and increasing the efficiency of your recycling facility.
 

If you live in a participating program area, simply buy the Hefty^® ReNew^® orange bags at your local store, fill the bag with accepted hard-to-recycle plastics, and when it’s full, tie it up and place it in your curbside recycling cart or bin, or take it to an approved drop-off facility, depending on your community. Your regular recycling truck will pick up the tied bags along with your normal recycling. The recycling center then separates these bags from other materials and sends them on to facilities that use the hard-to-recycle plastics as an energy resource — or break them down to create new and useful products.

Be sure to continue your normal recycling routine. The Hefty ReNew^™ program supplements conventional recycling – it does not replace it.

The only cost for participants is the cost of the bags themselves. The purchase of a box supports the costs associated with the program operations, including the cost of manufacturing the bags, program transportation costs, and the additional costs incurred by the recycling and conversion facilities. Beyond the cost of the Hefty^® ReNew^® orange bags to residents who elect to participate, there is no additional charge.

Download a list of hard-to-recycle plastics accepted in the program and what shouldn’t go into the program bags. Be sure to continue your normal recycling routine. The Hefty ReNew^™ program supplements conventional recycling - it does not replace it.

The specially designed Hefty^® ReNew^®orange bags keep all the loose, hard-to-recycle plastics separate from the other materials that participants recycle. The bag is tough enough to survive the recycling truck. The bright color makes it easy for recycling facilities to separate and forward the materials they cannot process, so the hard-to-recycle plastics don’t contaminate metal, glass, paper, and other recycling streams. For the program to work, the bag must be plastic; any other material would contaminate the plastic resources inside it. The orange bag is made with 20% recycled materials and it becomes a resource right along with its contents. 

There are a variety of end markets currently being used with the materials collected. Collected plastics may be ground into smaller pieces to make new plastic products, including building products, construction materials and plastic lumber, or they may be used to replace some of the coal that fuels kilns in cement manufacturing. An independent life cycle assessment found that these solutions were environmentally better than simply sending hard-to-recycle plastics to landfills. The Hefty^® team is continually evaluating end-of-life alternatives for hard-to-recycle plastics and is ready to adjust as other end markets emerge.

_{Source: Sustainable Solutions Corporation and S&C, Hefty ReNew^™ Program Life Cycle Assessment 2022}

No. The same hard-to-recycle materials will go in the orange bags and your curbside pickup or drop-off process is the same. All that's changing is the name and the addition of a drawstring closure on the bags to make them even easier to dispose of your items.

The Hefty ReNew^™ will be located in the trash bag aisle of the store. You can also look on your program page to find retailers and online sellers of the product.

No, the only bags that can be used in this program are the orange Hefty® ReNew® bags. Hefty® Ultra Strong™ Renew® trash bags have been renamed Hefty® Ultra Strong™ made with 50% Recovered Materials bags. Look for the bright orange Hefty® ReNew® bags in your local store or online.

Participant & Product Questions: Contact Us.

Press, Municipalities, or Corporate Inquiries: Contact Us.

Recovery Facility (MRF) Inquiries: Contact Us.