For years, the Hefty® ReNew™ Program has given Greater Cincinnati residents a way to recycle many of the hard-to-recycle plastics that aren’t accepted in traditional curbside recycling.

Now, that program is coming to an end.

Reynolds Consumer Products has announced that it is phasing out the Hefty ReNew Program nationwide. Hefty says Orange Bags will be discontinued by the end of 2026, while collection of ReNew materials will continue through June 30, 2027.

But the end of Hefty ReNew does not have to mean the end of recycling your hard-to-recycle plastics.

The Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub is ready to help. Meet your new local resource for hard-to-recycle plastics. The Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub was created to give Greater Cincinnati residents access to recycling options for materials that traditional curbside programs can't accept.

At the Hub, residents can bring a wide variety of clean, dry hard-to-recycle materials, including items such as:

• Snack bags and pouches

• Grocery and produce bags

• Bubble wrap

• Cereal and cracker packaging

• Takeout containers

• Produce containers

• Storage containers

• Lids and caps

• Styrofoam

• Metal

• Denim

• Cords

• Plastic straws and utensils

• And many other hard-to-recycle household materials

Our team hand-sorts materials at the Hub and works with carefully selected downstream partners to ensure materials are handled responsibly and, whenever possible, turned into new products or resources.

A different approach with a local connection

Hefty ReNew was designed as a broad solution for hard-to-recycle plastics. The program helped demonstrate that residents are eager to keep more plastics out of the landfill. But Hefty has acknowledged that the recycling infrastructure and end markets needed to manage such a broad mix of materials have not developed at the scale anticipated.

The Hub believes the next chapter should be more local, more transparent and more connected to our community. Rather than relying on one national program to manage a wide range of materials, the Hub carefully evaluates the materials we accept and the partners who ultimately receive them.

What should I do with my Hefty ReNew bags?

You don't need to throw them away.

Hefty says ReNew Orange Bags can continue to be used and collected through June 30, 2027. During the transition, continue following Hefty's instructions for using the bags. Once you're ready to move beyond the Hefty ReNew program, the Hub can help you establish a new routine for recycling your hard-to-recycle plastics.

Your new routine can be simple:

1. Clean it.
Make sure plastics are free of food, liquid and other residue.

2. Dry it.
Materials should be completely dry before bringing them to the Hub.

3. Sort it.
Separate your materials according to the Hub's sorting guidelines.

4. Bring it to the Hub.
Bring your materials to the Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub during residential drop-off hours.

5. Keep recycling.
We'll help make sure your materials get into the appropriate recycling stream.

Why choose the Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub?

We're local.

The Hub is a Cincinnati nonprofit created specifically to help our community recycle and reuse materials that don't fit neatly into traditional recycling systems.

We're focused on responsible recycling.

We don't simply collect materials and send them somewhere else. We carefully select downstream partners and work to understand where materials go after they leave our facility.

We're constantly expanding what's possible.

The Hub is investing in new capabilities to process plastics and turn them into new materials and finished products. That means we're working toward a future in which more of the materials collected in our community can remain in productive use.

We're building a circular local economy.

Every material we successfully divert represents an opportunity to conserve resources, reduce waste and create a healthier environment.

When in doubt, check before you throw it out.

[See everything the Hub accepts →]

The end of Hefty ReNew is not the end of your recycling journey.

If you've been using Hefty ReNew, you've already demonstrated something important:

You care about what happens to your waste.

The Hub wants to help you keep that commitment going.

As Hefty ReNew winds down, Cincinnati has an opportunity to build something better suited to our community—a recycling system that is local, transparent and continually evolving.

Ready to make the switch?

Become a Hub Club member and start recycling your hard-to-recycle household plastics at the Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub.

[JOIN HUB CLUB →]

[SEE WHAT WE ACCEPT →]

[LEARN HOW TO DROP OFF →]