Glad ‘Recycling’ Bags Are Not Recyclable Anywhere in U.S., Class Action Says

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges The Glad Products Company has defrauded consumers by falsely and misleadingly claiming that its “recycling” bags are specifically designed to be recycled when they are made with non-recyclable plastic materials and impede recycling in most places. 

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The 31-page suit says one fundamental reason why recycling isn’t working in the United States is that recycling bins are frequently contaminated with non-recyclable items, including plastic “recycling” bags falsely touted by manufacturers as designed specifically for recycling. Once a recycling bin is contaminated with non-recyclable waste, the contents therein, unbeknownst to many consumers, can no longer be recycled, and otherwise recyclable materials generally end up deposited in landfills, washed into the ocean or incinerated, the case shares. 

Per the case, Glad and parent the Clorox Company have charged a premium for so-called “recycling” bags that are made from the same non-recyclable plastic as trash bags and are “fundamentally unsuitable for their advertised purpose.” Moreover, the suit says the companies have caused environmentally conscious consumers to end up “unknowingly contributing to making pollution worse” by tricking them into believing that it is acceptable to bag recyclables, even though most municipalities treat bagged recyclables as regular trash. 

According to the lawsuit, Glad’s “recycling” bags are made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE), a type of plastic that is generally not recycled anywhere nationwide due to its low value. Per the suit, recycling bags made from LDPE are in most cases rejected by municipal recycling facilities and either deposited in landfills or incinerated. 

Further, the suit relays, because recycling items need to be sorted, most municipalities will not accept recycled items placed in plastic bags of any kind unless they have a dedicated “clear bag” or “blue bag” program in place, which the case says are “virtually nonexistent” in the United States. Thus, the product name and label for Glad “recycling” bags trick consumers into believing they can bag their recyclables, when in reality recyclable goods placed in the bags (and the bags themselves) end up in landfills, the ocean or burned up into the atmosphere, the case says. 

The filing relays that Glad’s “recycling” bags are made of the same low-value, non-recyclable material as Hefty “recycling” bags, the maker of which was sued by the Connecticut Attorney General for falsely claiming the bags are recyclable. 

“Defendants’ same-named ‘Recycling’ bags are made of the same non-recyclable low-value LDPE plastics that are generally incompatible with municipal recycling nationwide,” the lawsuit summarizes. “Thus, what the Attorney General of Connecticut said with respect to Hefty applies with equal force to Glad’s ‘Recycling’ bags: ‘These bags are fundamentally unsuitable for their advertised purpose.’” 

The case looks to cover all consumers in the United States who bought Glad Recycling Trash Bags within the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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