The NYT Spotlighted Hard-to-Recycle Plastics — Here’s How Nebraska Is Part of the Solution
Americans generate millions of pounds of “hard-to-recycle” plastics each year — films, bags, snack wrappers, bubble mailers, and multilayer packaging that curbside programs simply can’t take. These materials often end up in the landfill, even when people want to do the right thing.
We were thrilled to participate in the May 2025 New York Times/Wirecutter article, “These Companies Want Your Hard-to-Recycle Stuff. Should You Pay Them to Take It?”, which spotlighted this frustration and the rise of household subscription services that collect plastics too challenging for most curbside programs.
Ridwell — one of the collection services companies profiled for the article — sends its multilayer plastic to First Star Recycling for processing by our Solutions Plastic division. As our CEO, Patrick Leahy shared with the NYT, “100% of multilayer plastic from Ridwell is recycled into lumber or pellets that are resold for use in pallets, turf mats, and chemical recycling.”
At First Star Recycling, we’ve been generating solutions for hard-to-recycle plastics for years — and the launch of Solutions Plastic marked a turning point, allowing us to transform those materials into durable, long-lasting lumber products.
A Nebraska-Based Solution to a World-wide Problem
It’s great that mail-in and subscription services for hard-to-recycle items are making headlines, here locally, First Star Recycling has been recovering hard-to-recycle plastics through partnerships with communities, schools, and commercial clients for years.
The Orange Bag Program—originally introduced by Hefty and operated locally by First Star—captures materials that would otherwise go to landfill, including:
Plastic bags and films
Multi-layer packaging (chip bags, granola wrappers)
Bubble mailers
Non-rigid plastics
Many other “problem plastics”
These materials are transported to First Star primarily through local curb side and drop off programs, but also from out of state via commercial programs like Ridwell. The plastics are sorted, densified, and transferred to our division, Solutions Plastic Lumber, completing the circular loop as these materials are manufactured into new, durable products.
From Problem Plastics to Long-Lasting Lumber
Solutions Plastic Lumber is used in many applications including:
ReClaim™ Turf Board for synthetic turf installations
Plastic pallets for logistics
Outdoor-grade lumber for landscaping and construction
ReClaim™ boards:
Won’t rot
Don’t absorb moisture
Resist warping
Last for decades
Reduce reliance on virgin plastic
This is real circularity with real impact.
A Circular Future
The NYT article headline asks the question: “Should You Pay Them to Take It?”
At the end of the day, the real question for any household or business is: Do you want to keep materials out of the landfill and give them a second life?
If the answer is yes, your choice if there is no local, free drop off option, is to find a drop off program, hauling service, or subscription-style mail-in program that fits your needs and your budget.
In Nebraska, most of our orange bags are sent to First Star through existing residential recycling systems — curbside collection and free community drop-off containers. Together, First Star Recycling, Solutions Plastic Lumber, and all our participating partners are building a local, circular model:
Local collection
Local processing
Local manufacturing
Local products
Local impact
Learn More & Get Involved
Learn about the Orange Bag Program
Explore ReClaim™ Lumber
Schedule a facility tour
Contact us about commercial partnerships
Together, we’re proving that hard-to-recycle plastics can be part of a real solution.
“These Companies Want Your Hard-to-Recycle Stuff. Should You Pay Them to Take It?” New York Times Wirecutter Article, May 2025
