Wilmette, Glencoe, Winnetka get solution for hard-to-recycle plastics

The Hefty brand, known for its everyday products like trash bags (and, of course, its catchy slogan of, “Hefty, Hefty, Hefty!”), brought its ReNew Program to Cook County in April.

In partnership with Lakeshore Recycling Systems and the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, the sustainability-minded program is designed to provide residents in Glencoe, Skokie, Wilmette and Winnetka with an easier way to collect hard-to-recycle plastics.

“Hard-to-recycle plastics, whether they’re things we’re seeking out or things that are received as unintended material, … aren’t able to be recycled in our traditional curbside program,” Lucy Mellen, sustainability coordinator for the Village of Wilmette, told The Record. “They’re hard to recycle because they are recyclable in some markets but not in the traditional curbside recycling market, so this [program] provides another avenue for residents to further divert single-use, hard-to-recycle items from going into the landfill.”

Hefty provides participants with a search tool to see if an item constitutes a hard-to-recycle plastic, and accepted items are also printed directly on the orange collections bag. These include but are not limited to bubble wrap, plastic grocery bags, chip bags, food storage bags, foam egg cartons, foam peanuts and plastic straws.

According to a press release sent by the Village of Wilmette, the program is a complement to, not replacement for, current recycling efforts, and “participants should still follow the usual guidelines for other recyclables collected by LRS.”

The program, formerly known as Hefty EnergyBag, began in 2018 and has now diverted more than 2,800 tons of hard-to-recycle plastics from landfills across the United States.

Residents in the newly participating suburbs can opt-in to the program by requesting a free Hefty ReNew starter kit at HeftyReNew.com. This starter kit includes the approved orange bag, which residents will fill, tie up when full and put in their recycling bin with their loose recyclables. 

Recycling processors know to separate the orange bag from the other items.

The orange bags and their contents are then taken to facilities that reuse the hard-to-recycle plastics by turning them into new products.

Residents can find additional Hefty ReNew orange bags at participating stores like Sunset Foods and Jewel-Osco.

“I think this program is a great way to work in tandem toward our goals of limiting and reducing single-use plastics and hard-to-recycle items,” Mellen said. “It’s great to work in tandem with residents trying to reduce or limit what they’re purchasing that falls under this hard-to-recycle umbrella, but also understanding that people get these items all the time whether they like them or not.”

For example, Mellen added, “You know, I ordered a box online and for some reason it was filled with Styrofoam peanuts, and that’s not a choice that we make. But it’s something that, if residents are willing to go that extra step to acquire a bag and fill it up with items that are hard to recycle, they’re just helping to avoid things going in the landfill, which is always a benefit to everyone.”

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