Company settles Arizona consumer fraud lawsuit over Hefty Recycling Bags

A legal battle over the mislabeling of Hefty Recycling Bags has come to an end, according to the Arizona attorney general.

The settlement comes nearly six months after consumer fraud lawsuits were filed in three states, including Arizona.

The suit accused Reynolds Consumer Products, the company behind Hefty bags, of mislabeling their bags as recyclable.

Attorney General Kris Mayes also alleged that the products misrepresentation caused shutdowns at recycling facilities after getting caught in sorting equipment.

The Hefty owners have agreed to redesign the products box and remove any references to recyclable materials.

Arizona Attorney General's Office

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The company will also pay upwards of $210,000 in fines, legal fees and restitution.

But the deal, in which the company admits no wrongdoing, also does not require Reynolds to recall or remove any of the existing boxes from shelves.

The lawsuit stems from years of how Reynolds marketed the bags, including years where it actually labeled them as "recycling bags." Mayes said that was deceptive because it induced environmentally conscious Arizonans to purchase them.

That wasn't all. She said there were people who believed what the company was telling them who bought and used the bags — bags that ended up causing problems when the they became entangled in the equipment used to sort recyclables, shutting down the facility.

"Arizonans believed they were doing the right thing buying these bags and they paid a premium for these so-called recycling bags when, in fact, they were paying for something that harmed out ability to recycle," Mayes told Capitol Media Services when she filed the lawsuit last year. "When you try to put these bags into recycling it often messes with the recycling equipment at the different recycling facilities."

She said one one firm in Phoenix has to shut downs several times a day to disentangle plastic bags, "costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and endangering the workers who must do the disentanglements."

While Reynolds admits no wrongdoing, the settlement does allow the state to reopen the case if the company does not live up to its terms.