LAKE FOREST, Ill., March 5,
2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Reynolds Consumer Products
announced a monumental milestone for its groundbreaking Hefty®
EnergyBag® program. The innovative program, stemming from
the brand's commitment to helping create end-of-life solutions for
plastic waste across the United
States, has officially diverted over one million pounds of
hard-to-recycle plastics from landfills.
National Geographic estimates that as of 2017, 79% of plastic
waste in the United States ends up
in landfills, which includes hard-to-recycle plastics such as candy
wrappers, packing peanuts, straws and foam carry-out containers.
The Hefty® EnergyBag® program gives consumers in participating
markets the ability to collect these hard-to-recycle items and see
them converted into valuable resources rather than getting taken
out with the trash.
"We are really proud of surpassing our ambitious goal of
diverting one million pounds in just three years," said
Lindsey Walter, Director of the
Hefty® EnergyBag® program. "We are grateful to the many people and
communities out there who have embraced this program as something
we can all do together to make our world a little bit better."
In partnership with Dow and other community collaborators, the
Hefty® EnergyBag® program was set up to complement existing
recycling programs, allowing hard-to-recycle plastics to be picked
up at curbside.
Participants simply place hard-to-recycle plastics in the Hefty®
orange bag, tie the bag when full and place it in their curbside
recycling cart or bin. Once collected, the plastics are converted
into valuable resources including fuel and new plastic products
like park benches, composite decking and concrete blocks. The
signature bright orange bags used for collection make it easy for
recycling facilities to separate and forward the materials they
cannot process, so the hard-to-recycle plastics don't contaminate
other recycling streams.
"We are grateful for Hefty's partnership and their ability to
help galvanize people so that we all can do our part to help
minimize hard-to-recycle waste by converting it into valuable
resources," said Julie Zaniewski,
Dow's North America sustainability
director for Packaging & Specialty Plastics. "We are encouraged
by people's desire to be a part of the program and the impressive
growth it has seen thus far."
Since inception in Omaha,
Nebraska, in 2016, the EnergyBag® program has expanded to 13
communities across the United
States, making it available to more than 500,000
households.
"Though the EnergyBag® program on its own cannot eliminate all
the issues associated with plastic waste, we are proud to have
created a mechanism that allows people to do their part in
partnership with us," said Walter. "We have aggressive expansion
goals and are working to identify more end uses of the materials as
quickly as possible."
Consumers can learn more about the Hefty® EnergyBag® program,
including whether their community participates, and can also sign
up to request the program in their city by visiting
www.heftysustainability.com.
About Reynolds Consumer Products
Reynolds Consumer Products (REYN: Nasdaq) is a leading provider of
household products that simplify daily life so you can enjoy what
matters most. Our Reynolds® and Hefty® brand products help make
mealtime easier with preparation, cooking, cleanup, and storage
solutions. For more information, visit
ReynoldsConsumerProducts.com and HeftyEnergyBag.com.
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth, asset integration and
scale, focused innovation and leading business positions to achieve
profitable growth. The Company's ambition is to become the most
innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials
science company. Dow's portfolio of plastics, industrial
intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad
range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for
its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging,
infrastructure and consumer care. Dow operates 109 manufacturing
sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 36,500 people. Dow
delivered sales of approximately $43
billion in 2019. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow
Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit
www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.
Contact Information:
Danielle Smith
(612) 987-6601
Dsmith@periscope.com
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SOURCE Hefty