Walmart, Reynolds Banned From Selling Fake 'Recycling' Bags In MN: AG

ST. PAUL, MN — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced settlements Thursday with Walmart and Reynolds Consumer Products over deceptively marketed "recycling" bags that could cause fires at recycling centers.

Under the settlements, both Walmart and Reynolds will not sell those bags in Minnesota for two and a half years.

If they decide to sell semi-transparent blue bags in Minnesota after that time, the packaging and marketing may not be labeled "recycling bags." They must be conspicuously marked, "these bags are not recyclable."

Reynolds will give up all profits they made in selling their deceptively marketed "recycling" bags, according to Ellison. Reynolds also agreed to establish and enforce anti-greenwashing training and to review its own marketing claims.

"We appreciate Attorney General Ellison and his team for their diligent efforts in holding companies accountable for these misleading and harmful practices," said Eureka Recycling Co-President and CEO Katie Drews.

"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."

In June 2023, Ellison sued Walmart and Reynolds — the parent company of the Hefty bag trademark — for defrauding Minnesota consumers with their "recycling" bags.

Those bags were not recyclable in Minnesota and rendered unrecyclable all materials put inside of them, even items that would otherwise be recyclable, according to the lawsuit.

Many bags ended up in the waste stream. The ones that did enter a recycling stream had the potential to cause the sorting machinery to malfunction, which could cause fires and result in unsafe conditions for workers regularly who had to crawl into the machinery to remove them, Ellison's office notes.

In a statement to the Star Tribune, a spokesperson for Reynolds said the company believes the lawsuit claims "lack merit" but is "pleased to put this matter behind us."

"We remain committed to our sustainability mission to develop innovative products and solutions that simplify daily life and protect the environment."

Find Eureka Recycling's tips about plastic bags.