The Hefty EnergyBag program just expanded to Hamilton and Bradley County, giving residents an addition to their current recycling efforts in order to convert hard-to-recycle plastics into resources. Chattanooga is now one of five communities in the country that participate in the program, which has diverted over 2,000 tons of hard-to-recycle plastics from landfills to-date.
Many Chattanooga residents have already begun to receive their starter kits with Hefty EnergyBag orange bags this week.
Chattanooga resident Brian Wright received a grant in 2021 from the Sustainability and Recycling Pitch & Pilot Competition and piloted the Hefty EnergyBag program to collect hard-to-recycle plastics from 67 households in the Jefferson Heights neighborhood. This pilot was the catalyst for the program’s official expansion to the area, where 200K+ Chattanooga households are now eligible for the program.
The Hefty EnergyBag program provides a simple, convenient solution for hard-to-recycle plastics such as plastic utensils, candy wrappers, pet food bags and foam takeout containers that would otherwise be thrown away. The program is an easy addition to a current recycling routine, keeps these plastics out of landfills, and converts the materials into resources, said officials.
How it works:
1. Purchase the Hefty EnergyBag orange bags on Hefty.com or Target.com.
2. Begin collecting accepted hard-to-recycle plastics in the orange bags.
3. Bring the bags to one of Chattanooga’s five recycling convenience centers, including:
5955 Brainerd Road
1250 E. 3rd Street
3189 Cummings Hwy
8004 Batters Place Road
4504 N. Access Road
4. The recycling center then separates these bags from other materials and sends them on to facilities that use the hard-to-recycle plastics as an energy resource — or breaks them down to create new and useful products. But, be sure to continue your normal recycling routine. The Hefty EnergyBag program supplements conventional recycling – it does not replace it.
For more information, visit the Hefty EnergyBag Chattanooga website page here.