Candy wrappers, chip bags and foam egg cartons aren’t typically recyclable items. But in central Ohio, you CAN recycle them through trash bag maker Hefty’s ReNew program.
You just have to put those items in one of Hefty’s special orange bags.
The typically hard-to-recycle items, like cereal box liners and salad bags, are turned into plastic lumber, pellets or pallets, according to Paul Benvenuti, sales director for the Hefty ReNew program. He said the material stays in the U.S., and it isn’t burned for fuel, except in the case of one Boise, Idaho cement kiln.
Benvenuti said Hefty ReNew is a consumer-driven program. “These are for people that want to go the extra mile on some materials that aren't currently taken in most conventional recycling systems,” he said.
Here’s how it works: folks buy Hefty’s orange bags, fill them up and place them in their regular curbside recycling bins. Other recyclables should still be placed loosely in bins.
Central Ohio trash collector Rumpke takes the bags, sorts them out, bundles them and gives them to Hefty to take to their regional partners.
The orange bags are designed to be durable enough to survive the recycling truck and bright and easy to spot.
Accepted items include cracker box liners, foam egg cartons, vegetable and fruit bags, plastic pet food bags, bubble wrap, foam peanuts, plastic food wrap, plastic grocery bags and foam cups. Items have to be clean and dry and they cannot have foil lining.
“While it is a branded program with the Hefty ReNew name, we collect materials from a variety of manufactured brands packaging to make sure that material gets diverted,” Benvenuti said.
As of right now, the Hefty ReNew program is in just nine states. It started in Cincinnati in late 2023. It’s also available in the Dayton area. This spring, it started up in central Ohio, in Franklin, Delaware, Madison, Union, Marion, Knox, Licking, Fairfield, Pickaway, Ross, Highland, Fayette, Richland and Crawford counties.
Benvenuti said the program exists in places where recycling facilities have the ability to separate out Hefty’s orange bags, and where communities are engaged and looking for ways to be more sustainable.
Hefty first established programs in Omaha, Nebraska and Boise, Idaho about five years ago, Benvenuti said.
“We see that the program does take, you know, a year or two to kind of mature and get to that critical mass as people kind of understand how to participate,” Benvenuti said. “But the excitement growth in the Ohio region has been very exciting.”
Those interested in trying the program can order a free starter kit. After that, customers have to buy orange Hefty bags to participate. They can be found at Target, Kroger and some other retailers. A box of 20 bags costs $7.99.
Benvenuti said so far, the national Hefty ReNew program has diverted around 3,000 tons of materials from landfills.
