
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 13, 1990                   TAG: 9006130079
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON                                LENGTH: Short

TRASH BAG MAKER SUED BY 7 STATES

Seven states sued Mobil Chemical Co. on Tuesday, charging the company falsely claimed its Hefty trash bags and grocery bags would decompose.

Mobil announced in March that it would stop calling its Hefty bags biodegradable because of confusion about what degradable means.

Lawsuits were filed by Massachusetts, Minnesota, Texas, California, Wisconsin, New York and Washington state. The lawsuits contend Mobil made false claims for the Hefty bags in advertisements by saying they break down when exposed to sun, wind and rain.

The Massachusetts suit said the claim violated the state Consumer Protection Act. The bags do not perform as promised because they are ultimately incinerated or buried in landfills, where they decompose no faster than ordinary plastic bags, the suit alleges.

by CNB