When the Dow Chemical Co. introduced its Hefty Energy Bag program a year ago in Omaha, NE, it was hailed as a to the problem of non-recyclable plastics getting into the environment. A successful pilot program in 2014 in Citrus Heights, CA, with 26,000 households used waste haulers to pick up the purple Hefty Energy Bags and transport these unrecyclables to an Agilyx plant where that company converted these waste materials into a high-value synthetic crude oil using its patented pyrolysis technology.

The goal of the Omaha program announced last year in collaboration with Keep America Beautiful (KAB) was to divert 36 tons of plastics from landfills in its first phase, converting it to energy for cement production. Now it seems that program is under fire from certain environmental groups, urging people to reject that program if it comes to their community.

Environmental organizations including Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, the San Francisco Department for the Environment and the Sierra Club Chapter in Omaha, have signed on to a pledge stating that they will not support this program if it comes to their community. The program encourages families to collect their “previously non-recycled” plastics—single-use items like chip bags, disposable cutlery and juice pouches—in a special orange Hefty bag for curbside pick-up to be converted into valuable energy resources.