Renew Liner Simply Does Not Care
A packaging product called Renew Liner is made from PET fiber. Unfortunately, the company FALSELY claims that this packaging is recyclable. As you can see, the packaging is a fiber and clear plastic film. To my knowledge, there are no curbside programs that can accept this material. It cannot be recycled with plastic bags at the supermarket, or in any other bag collection program and the manufacturer won’t take it.
When challenged by recycling professionals in New Jersey, the company’s answer is essentially, WE DON’T CARE…IT is your problem and we won’t change our product or our label.
This is arrogance combined with I don’t care.
Please call the company and register a complaint. IF you have purchased a product packaged in this material, contact the company from whom you purchased the product and file a complaint.
Finally, do not put Renew Liner into your recycling stream.
The telephone number for the product is: 415-389-5004
Read The Follow-Up Here:
Plastic is Confusing and the Recycling Symbol Often Makes it Worse.
Received something a while ago and put the renewliner it was sent in aside as as I am periodically selling on ebay and this seemed to be a great packing material for dishes. I wrapped some dishes up in it and sent them off to the purchaser, and I decided that I would purchase some of this and looked on the internet to see where from. Luckily I saw your post before I went any further. What a shame that they are deliberately misleading people.
First, thanks for reading my blog! More importantly, thanks for reusing the material..maybe the buyer will keep the reuse cycle going! Lastly, thanks for taking a real action! The power of the pursestrings is probably the most effective tool that we have.
I am happy that you were able to use the information!!!!!!!!!
Hmmm. I have a huge stack of it from all my home delivered meals. How about using it to insulate my shaheed and utility trailers? Will that work? Keeps it out of trash for 20 years or so. Maybe there will be a recycle option by then!
Thanks for writing Pablo…It is certainly an insulation material…HOWEVER…it is not fire rated..It can burn….I would say that makes it a fire hazard that you might want to be careful about….Maybe your local food bank can use it to insulate cold items for those in need and line a reusable bag with it? Not sure…
I wonder if they can be sued for claiming they’re recyclable when they’re not. Seems like false advertising.
I started saving them to reuse them. Now I must have about 50 of them in my attic.
In California they can..but not here in NJ…Please note that they can burn….Why not mail them back to the company?
Okay, maybe it can’t be recycled. It obviously has Ben recycled once already. What keeps it from being recycled again? It’s fiberfill. Like we use as filters in our fish tanks. It’s used at least twice. Please explain why you are so concerned about this.🙃
Thank Vivian,
When something says that you can recycle it as it does on this liner, it causes people to place this material in the curbside recycling program bins. Indeed, it tells people to do that. This causes a great deal of confusion and contaminates the curbside bins. It also results in potential clogging of the recycling processing lines at MRF’s. Finally, since it cannot be recycled in a regular program where PET is accepted, it is in fact not being recycled again but landing in an incinerator or landfill since the MRF is pulling it as garbage. Thus, my concern. As for your ability to reuse the material if you receive it..kudos..that is something valuable to be sure…
Wait a minute. This is exactly what dishwashers are blanketed in. Ask me how I know? I just paid $60 for a replacement for my dishwasher. I could have taped a bunch of these together for nothing. If it’s good enough to insulate food and medicine there has to be many other uses including reusable packing material. The whole ‘recycle to save the planet’ thing is disingenuous anyway. There’s billions of cell phones and useless polyester clothing sent to 3rd world countries where it becomes their problem to dispose of. Out of sight out of mind.
Thanks for writing Marge,
It certainly is reusable as a packing material. Indeed, I always recommend that reuse is the preferred option…As for your dishwasher..As I noted to Pablo, it is not fireproof..and thus, probably not exactly what is around your dishwasher..but it is similar.
As for your opinion on recycling, I am not certain about your factual basis…but recycling is statistically and factually proven to be helpful and beneficial from an environmental standpoint..Of course, it must be done correctly and only those materials that can be recycled should be recycled both at the curb and in other programs…(by the way, the main reason for my complaint on this material..they say it can be recycled with your curbside program AND IT CANNOT). As for cell phones, some states, like NJ require that they be recycled..and they cannot be just shipped overseas. As for clothes, that is certainly an issue…There are some companies that do not ship overseas..but I do agree that textiles are a problem that we need to address. Thanks again for writing.