When my beauty products run out, I often find myself looming over the trash and recycling bins, debating which receptacle deserves my empties. If I throw them in the trash, will I turn on the TV and see a helpless sea turtle being impaled with the product I tossed? Will I be tagged in a viral video of a penguin with the subtitles “Thanks a lot Dana, now my lungs are full of glitter!”? If I opt for the recycling bin, will it even be recycled? SO MANY IFS. Even after working in the beauty industry for two decades, I don’t have all of the answers. I remember the moment my curiosity was heightened. I had just purchased a handful of new products and as I was unwrapping their plastic-on-plastic-on-plastic packaging, I became increasingly anxious about the ugly truth.   This industry is built on making people feel beautiful, but are we simultaneously devastating our planet? There’s an undeniable feeling of guilt when you throw something out that could have been recycled or repurposed, but once it’s out the door or down the chute, it’s “not your problem” anymore. The truth is, it’s still your problem; it’s our collective problem. Trash is like karma—it comes back to haunt you.   All of this waste is compromising our ecosystem and it’s making me nervous, so I asked Terracycle—a company that’s paving the way in recycling—to put my IFs to bed and give me the hard facts to share with you. Because garbage is scary and knowledge is power. I hope you learn as much as I did and take an extra moment to consider your options before your next purge.   What happens to a product once it hits the recycling bin?   Once a product is placed in a recycling bin, it begins a long process of sortation, separation, cleaning (if applicable), and processing before it can ultimately be recycled into a new product. For instance, plastics (a major component of much beauty and cosmetic packaging) may change hands through sales several times before it even begins processing. The Atlantic published a very comprehensive article a few years back that detailed a plastic bottle’s recycling journey.   What can we do at home to reduce waste from our personal beauty routines?   One tip that individuals can easily implement into their beauty routines is to replace disposable items like makeup wipes and sponges with durable, multi-use alternatives that can be washed and used again and again. Likewise, planning ahead of time for the end-of-life phase of the plastics that you can’t cut out is also advantageous. Consumers are invited to mail in or drop off various types of beauty care waste via TerraCycle’s free brand-sponsored recycling programs. However, it is important to remember that simply buying less is the single-most effective way to reduce beauty care routine waste.   When and how should we get rid of old or unwanted beauty products?   Great question. A lot of people have the best intentions when attempting to recycle their beauty or cosmetic products but forget to empty out any residual material. The presence of leftover material not only contaminates the original product (relegating it to landfill) but also risks contaminating more otherwise recyclable material that also encounters the residuals. Likewise, when emptying out products, it is important to remember to seal the residuals in a non-recyclable container and dispose of it in the normal garbage since some modern beauty products contain microbeads that risk exacerbating the plastic pollution crisis if flushed down the drain. Consumers can check their town’s recycling guidelines via the easy-to-use database maintained by Call2Recycle to avoid wish-cycling, a counterproductive practice that can cause recycling machinery to break down and that contaminates otherwise recyclable material. They are also invited to see if their waste can be recycled through any of TerraCycle’s free recycling programs.   Where do the majority of beauty products end up?   Unfortunately, much of the beauty product waste generated worldwide is destined for landfills and, in the worst possible scenarios, it contributes to litter or the plastic pollution of natural marine habitats. The Ocean Conservancy reports that “every year, 8 million metric tons of plastics enter our ocean on top of the estimated 150 million metric tons that currently circulate our marine environments.” While it is unclear how much of that ocean plastic is a result of people’s beauty routines, a 2014 study by Care to Recycle reports that while an impressive 95% of consumers claim to recycle waste produced in their kitchens (aluminum cans, glass bottles, etc.) only about half do so in other rooms, including the bathroom where a large volume of beauty/cosmetic waste is generated. So, it can be extrapolated that much of the beauty/cosmetics waste that can actually be recycled municipally (like glass bottles and some plastic shampoo or lotion bottles) is not finding its way to a recycling center.   How much waste does the beauty industry account for?   According to a study by Zero Waste Week and an article published by Stylist, the global cosmetics industry produces 120 billion units of packaging every year, which translates to the yearly loss of 18 million acres of forest. To put this statistic into perspective, after just six decades of producing plastic en masse (a staple material in most beauty product packaging), 8.3 billion metric tons have been produced and 91%, the overwhelming majority, has not been recycled.   Can you name a few beauty brands that are taking necessary steps to make a positive change in the waste department?   Over the years, many notable beauty and cosmetic brands have sponsored free recycling programs through TerraCycle to solve for their product’s end-of-life cycle. To name a few, Garnier, Burt’s Bees, eos, Herbal Essences, L’Occitane, Josie Maran, Limelife by Alcone, and Paula’s Choice all currently have TerraCycle programs, and Head & Shoulders partnered with TerraCycle to create the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle made with beach plastic in 2017.   How can brands better educate their consumers about recycling?   Brands can help their consumers recycle their products by prominently displaying the product’s recycling symbol and number on their packaging along with the advisory that they should first check what type of plastics are recycled in their town. Likewise, many brands (such as Febreze) have TerraCycle’s symbol on their packaging to denote that their product is recyclable via a TerraCycle program.   Would you agree that manufacturers should be leading innovation, since they’re typically the first point of contact when it comes to packaging?   Manufacturers have responded to the plastic pollution crisis with several alternatives, namely compostable plastic containers. While these products are certainly innovative since they are produced from renewable resources as opposed to petrochemicals, it is important to note that, according to Greenbiz, “If these materials are not correctly disposed of at their end of life, they will cause just as much damage to our land and marine environments as traditional petrochemical-based plastic litter.” Simply put, there has yet to emerge a “silver bullet” that is poised to solve our plastic pollution crisis. As TerraCycle’s founder and CEO Tom Szaky says, one of the best ways to elicit change is by voting with your dollar since, while we may cast a vote for a political candidate every so often, we decide what brands to support every day through the purchases we make. If brands are willing to innovate by making their product packaging more environmentally friendly, the conscious consumer will respond to their efforts. A lot of brands have already reacted to increased consumer demand for more eco-friendly packaging by either cutting-down on existing packaging or by reinventing their packaging from the ground up through TerraCycle’s Loop, a platform designed to take us from disposability to reusability through cutting-edge technology and packaging design.   What are the most conscious options for packaging that exist today?   Since much of the packaging currently utilized by beauty brands is comprised of different materials like plastics, glass, and metals, it can be too costly (in terms of time and money) to separate and process. As a result, much of the beauty packaging waste thrown in the blue bin is sorted out by municipal recycling centers and relegated to landfills because even if the consumer does their best to recycle the conventionally recyclable parts of beauty/cosmetic packaging (i.e. cardboard, #1 and #2 plastics, and glass bottles), the remaining pumps, trigger heads, and product tubes are still not accepted by many municipal recycling programs. A good example of this phenomenon are deodorant tubes, described in an article by National Geographic. While the consumer can easily recycle the cardboard box the deodorant might be packaged in, they would need to dismantle the entire deodorant tube (including its tiny plastic pieces) in the hopes of getting it recycled. Even then, the separated plastic components will not be recycled if the municipal recycling facility does not process that specific type of plastic. Even with the best intentions, the act of throwing waste in the blue bin without first consulting your town’s recycling guidelines is known as wish-cycling and is a major stressor for recycling experts. To avoid this, it is recommended that consumers check their town’s specific guidelines via the resource offered by Call2Recycle. Reusable packaging, like that employed by TerraCycle’s Loop, is resoundingly the most eco-conscious option, but since glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled continuously without any loss in the resulting quality, it is the next best thing compared to reusable models.   What advice would you give a founder who’s in the research & development phase of a future brand?   As aforementioned, eco-friendly packaging design, in the form of reuse models such as Loop, or containers that utilize recycled or less overall material, seem to be the trajectory of packaging design. As consumers become hyper-aware of environmental stories like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, for instance, they will begin to expect more environmentally friendly alternatives.   How is TerraCycle helping brands make a smaller environmental footprint?   The following is an excerpt from TerraCycle’s website on the environmental benefits of recycling through TerraCycle: “By sending waste to TerraCycle you will avoid it ending up as litter, in a landfill or incineration facility. Instead, new materials and products will be made with your collected waste, reducing the need to extract new materials from the planet. This avoided impact is not small; for an average product over 90% of the environmental impact comes from extracting and refining the raw materials from which it is made.”   Well, there you have it. As members of the beauty industry, we need to wake up and start making some serious changes. As TerraCycle said above, there are a handful of simple things we can all do to help…  

1. Send our used products to TerraCycle, which is free and takes two seconds to sign up for.
2. Discard residue from packaging in a non-recyclable container (aka any type of multi-layered plastic bag or pouch) and throw it in the trash instead of flushing it into the water system.
3. Buy less single-use products like wipes and sponges and switch to reusable options instead.
4. Contact your local government officials to find out best recycling practices.
5. Shop less.
6. Spread the word and share this article with your community.

  Here’s to making smarter choices for our planet! Photo: Angela Compagnone via Unsplash DANA RAE Dana Rae is a published makeup artist with two decades of experience in the beauty industry. She is also a founder, product innovator, brand consultant, contributing writer, and creative.

The way we do things is changing so quickly in this crazy world in which we live. As we navigate the ins and outs of our new normal, I want everyone to remember to keep recycling. To do our part in making the world a better place to live, Nyquist Elementary School is part of the TerraCycle, Plant Green and ColorCycle programs. We are trying to save the planet one brigade at a time. We are slowly getting people to recycle the unique items that can be reused and kept out of the landfills.   TerraCycle is a program that not only recycles those hard to recycle items but also offers fundraising opportunities. While the school has bins in place at their facility, Emily Miller felt a need to make them more accessible to the community to help raise awareness on the importance of recycling. You will find bins for Eos products at Spire Credit Union, Colgate oral care (accepting all brands of toothpaste tubes, floss containers and packaging) at the Isle Dentist office, personal care beauty products (accepting lipstick tubes, mascara tubes, pump tops from lotion bottles, shampoo bottles, etc.) at JJ’s Shear Beauty. Isle Hardware Hank has a bin for Febreze products such as air freshener cartridges, plugins, packaging, and Febreze one trigger spray bottles. On your next stop to Thompson’s Lake Country Drug, be sure to bring your disposable razors to be recycled. They will accept all brands, packaging and disposable razor heads. The following items can be recycled at the school. GoGo Squeez pouches and caps, Contacts blister packs and contacts, Arm & Hammer and Oxiclean Laundry soap pouches, L.O.L. Surprize Packaging, accessories and products, #6 Rigid plastic cups (Solo) and not Solo, Popsockets, Swiffer refills, and Bunch O Balloons packaging, balloons, stem, etc.   The ColorCycle program accepts all brands, sizes and types of markers. You may drop your old, dried up markers in the bin at City Hall.   Plant Green offers recycling for ink cartridges. Those items may be dropped off at First National Bank.   For more information on what products can be recycled, please visit the bin locations. Each bin contains an information sheet on what they accept. I will also add information to my webpage on the district website. I want to thank Emily Miller and the area businesses for partnering with Nyquist Elementary on this project and helping to keep our Earth clean and beautiful. I encourage you to start collecting these highly used items and drop them off on your next trip to town. As one person, you may feel that you cannot make an impact, but as a community, we can start to change the world. Now, imagine if everyone in every community participated. Imagine the impact that would make on our environment. I hope you will get out and help save our planet. Afterall, Earth is for everyone.   Guest columnist Melisa Maxwell is the dean of students at Isle Public Schools.

The way we do things is changing so quickly in this crazy world in which we live. As we navigate the ins and outs of our new normal, I want everyone to remember to keep recycling. To do our part in making the world a better place to live, Nyquist Elementary School is part of the TerraCycle, Plant Green and ColorCycle programs. We are trying to save the planet one brigade at a time. We are slowly getting people to recycle the unique items that can be reused and kept out of the landfills.   TerraCycle is a program that not only recycles those hard to recycle items but also offers fundraising opportunities. While the school has bins in place at their facility, Emily Miller felt a need to make them more accessible to the community to help raise awareness on the importance of recycling. You will find bins for Eos products at Spire Credit Union, Colgate oral care (accepting all brands of toothpaste tubes, floss containers and packaging) at the Isle Dentist office, personal care beauty products (accepting lipstick tubes, mascara tubes, pump tops from lotion bottles, shampoo bottles, etc.) at JJ’s Shear Beauty. Isle Hardware Hank has a bin for Febreze products such as air freshener cartridges, plugins, packaging, and Febreze one trigger spray bottles. On your next stop to Thompson’s Lake Country Drug, be sure to bring your disposable razors to be recycled. They will accept all brands, packaging and disposable razor heads. The following items can be recycled at the school. GoGo Squeez pouches and caps, Contacts blister packs and contacts, Arm & Hammer and Oxiclean Laundry soap pouches, L.O.L. Surprize Packaging, accessories and products, #6 Rigid plastic cups (Solo) and not Solo, Popsockets, Swiffer refills, and Bunch O Balloons packaging, balloons, stem, etc.   The ColorCycle program accepts all brands, sizes and types of markers. You may drop your old, dried up markers in the bin at City Hall.   Plant Green offers recycling for ink cartridges. Those items may be dropped off at First National Bank.   For more information on what products can be recycled, please visit the bin locations. Each bin contains an information sheet on what they accept. I will also add information to my webpage on the district website. I want to thank Emily Miller and the area businesses for partnering with Nyquist Elementary on this project and helping to keep our Earth clean and beautiful. I encourage you to start collecting these highly used items and drop them off on your next trip to town. As one person, you may feel that you cannot make an impact, but as a community, we can start to change the world. Now, imagine if everyone in every community participated. Imagine the impact that would make on our environment. I hope you will get out and help save our planet. Afterall, Earth is for everyone.   Guest columnist Melisa Maxwell is the dean of students at Isle Public Schools.

For several generations of young Americans, the idea of a ‘milkman’ is a completely foreign concept. But if you lived in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and you were in the middle-class, you likely had a delivery truck dropping off fresh bottles of milk on your front porch—and you would leave the empties outside to be picked up. It was super convenient—and, better yet, there was no waste generated in the process. With tons of plastic containers overrunning landfills, and an innovative partnership of consumer brands emerging, the milkman idea of circulating containers is making a comeback. Loop launched in Paris and New York one year ago as a company that ships customers their favorite products packaged in reusable stainless steel or glass containers to be collected later for cleaning and refilling—just like your grandfather’s milk. They quickly expanding their operation to cover much of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region, and this month Loop will be bringing their pioneering business model to the UK, a move they hope will make them the biggest eliminator of single-use plastics in the global grocery market. They also announced plans to expand soon into Canada, Germany, and Japan. Loop teamed up with some of the biggest consumer industry giants to create eco-versions of hundreds of popular products like Tropicana, Haagen-Dazs, or Hellmann’s mayonnaise; cleaning products like Tide and Clorox wipes; and skin and hair care essentials like deodorants, from companies like Dove, Pantene, L’Oreal, and Crest. Procter & Gamble, Loop’s biggest partner, which also owns a 2 percent stake in the enterprise, tapped into 10 of its most iconic brands as part of the Loop 2019 launch, including Ariel, Cascade, Crest, Febreze, Gillette, Pantene, Pampers, and Tide, according to GreenBiz. Image by Loop Stateside, the refillable products are available at Kroger and Walgreens, in addition to the online Loop store, and they cost nearly the same as their plastic counterparts, except for the cost of a deposit. Founded by the brilliant recycling company TerraCycle, Loop plans to expand across the U.S. this year where more consumers in specific zip codes can place empties inside their Loop insulated zipper tote on the doorstep—to be picked up, washed, and reused. In France, where Loop has already partnered with Carrefour—one of the largest grocery chains in Europe, consumers pay a small deposit on the items purchased, in case the packages aren’t returned later. This includes small bottles, where a deposit might only be a few cents, or large tubs that might contain laundry soap or paper towels. 1953 photo by Ben van Meerendonk / AHF, collectie IISG, Amsterdam When asked about the hefty carbon footprint of shipping the products all over the country and then shipping them back for washing and refilling, Loop’s founder, the mastermind of Terracycle, Tom Szaky, explained that if you add up all the energy and shipping it takes to create and distribute plastic, the carbon footprint is cut in half—plus you are digging up the actual root of the plastic problem, so it can be eliminated. Furthermore, as drone delivery technology becomes more and more feasible in major cities, delivery will become much cheaper and more energy efficient. Companies like DHL, UPS, Amazon, Google, Dominoes, Rakuten, and 7-11 all have drone-delivery technology. According to the Business Insider 2018-2020 report on online grocery shopping, 10% of consumers utilize online grocery store options, while the market value of these services doubled from $12 billion in 2016 to $26 billion in 2018 and shows no sign of slowing down. It’s possible that in the next ten years thanks to companies like Loop, all the benefits of the friendly neighborhood milkman will be resurrected to create a healthier planet for all.  

This year, Coca Cola unveiled a bottle made from 25% recycled plastic while PepsiCo announced it will be investing $25 million in recycling infrastructure. As mbg recently reported in our natural beauty trends forecast, Dove also switched to bottles made from 100% recycled plastic in 2019, and its parent brand, Unilever, announced that it will use half as much new plastic in its products by 2025. Meanwhile, Olay began testing refillable pods for its most popular moisturizer. For mindbodygreen's brand-new line of nr+ supplements—released as a limited-edition run last month, to be launched in broader distribution in January 2020—we've packaged the recyclable glass bottles in completely compostable trays, made from mushrooms. Public awareness and unrest about plastic pollution have been building for years (hello, straw bans), but it wasn't until 2019 that major corporations really started to do something about it.  

What's driving the shift away from plastic packaging?

A new service called Loop has helped kick-start the push away from plastic. Launched in May of this year in Paris and a handful of states across the northeastern U.S, the service allows people to shop for grocery, household, and personal care products from brands like Tide, Febreze, and Crest. The kicker? For a small markup, these goods are shipped out in durable, reusable packaging that can be sent back in to be reused and refilled. Loop is a direct rebuttal to the idea that recycling can save us from the waste crisis: "Recycling is like Tylenol: You take it when you have a headache, but there are better ways to never get the headache to begin with," Tom Szaky, the CEO of TerraCycle and Loop, told mbg last year. In the six months since launch, Loop has kicked off in another five states and plans to enter six new markets before early 2021: The U.K., Canada, Germany, Japan, Australia, and potentially the West Coast of the U.S. Loop is also onboarding about one new brand to their platform every business day. "There's been a lot of organic demand from consumers. We just hear nonstop from people that they're really excited about the service, and they want to see it available in their state," explains Heather Crawford, the VP of marketing and e-commerce at Loop. Upward of 85,000 people have signed on to the waitlist so far, and they're not the only ones who want to see the service take off: Crawford has seen that the massive names—the Unilevers and P&Gs of the world—are eager to get involved and rethink the delivery of their products to keep up with the times. When mbg heard Unilever's CEO Alan Jope speak at this year's Climate Week NYC, he confirmed that Unilever is working to make its business more environmentally responsible— a change that investors are insisting on more often. "I'm noticing our investors increasingly asking us to run our business for the long term. This idea that the Street is only interested in short-term performance, I don't accept," Jope said. "We're going to see capital inflows into responsible business and capital outflows out of polluting and carbon-dense industries. It's that simple." For another signal that the low-waste life is trending in the business realm, we can look to Williamsburg's Package Free Shop: Opened in 2017 by zero-waste poster child Lauren Singer, the shop sells health, beauty, and living essentials that are free of single-use plastic parts and packaging (think shampoo bars wrapped in paper and compostable vegetable brushes). The company's recent $4.5 million seed funding round proves that investors are confident that people beyond the trendy Brooklyn 'hood want to opt into its zero-waste ethos. "In the past year, more people than ever before have realized the impact that single-use plastic and waste has on the environment," Singer tells mbg. The recent funding will help the Package Free team work toward their mission to make zero-waste products hyper-accessible to the average Joe or Jane: "Our goal is to manufacture products that are both the most sustainable ones on the market and are as accessible and convenient as buying a Unilever or P&G product."

All signs point to more packaging innovation in 2020.

David Feber, a partner at McKinsey & Company who works primarily in the consumer packaged goods space, tells mbg, "Sustainability is combining with other powerful trends such as e-commerce and digitalization to drive major disruption in packaging over the next several years in the consumer products space." This year, a McKinsey report on Gen Z buying habits found that this "hypercognitive" generation, born between 1995 and 2010, will likely only push the needle toward more sustainable packaging solutions as they come of age. And sustainable packaging is just the start: A report by BBMG and GlobeScan predicts that in order to stay relevant with the next generation, companies will have to take more mission-driven action. "While Gen Z is ready to champion brands who show bravery on the issues that matter, they are also the first to call bullshit when they see it, especially when they see brands promoting their commitment to 'doing well by doing good' while staying silent about the negative impacts at the heart of the business practices that make their success possible," it reads.  

From food manufacturers to e-commerce giants, the pressure is on to have at least some form of sustainable business practice as more consumers align with environmentally-friendly businesses. Loop is one way some larger brands are starting to dabble in becoming greener without resorting to completely uproot their existing supply chains. Created by recycling company TerraCycle, the online platform allows customers to shop from their favorite brands in a cleaner, more environment-friendly manner using reusable containers. After filling out your online shopping bag via the Loop online shopping platform, the products are stored in several sturdy, reusable containers before sending the bulk of them to you. Users simply just have to pay a small deposit for the durable, multi-use package designs—not unlike glass milk bottles from the days of milkmen. Rather than using discardable containers that usually end up in the trash, food items like your favorite Häagen-Dazs ice cream are stored in containers designed specifically for the product (in this case, the ice cream is stored in a stainless steel container). Not only is it greener, but the reusable container keeps the ice cream frozen for much longer—proving that functional upgrade considerations also went into the design of the new containers. Says the company: “Most products today are “linear” – thrown away after they’re used (typically once). This one-way model sends valuable resources to the trash. In a “circular” system, that line is bent into a circle that keeps resources in use and cycling through the system for as long as possible. The goal of the circular economy is to make those circles as tight as possible by reducing the number of steps (and the resulting energy, transportation and resources needed) to get our products from useless to useful again.” This call towards reusable packaging is inspiring brands to think about how they design their products. Toothpaste, for instance, doesn’t fit well in a reusable container; so Unilever has created several chewable toothpaste tablets which are stored in a tin (think of it as chewing gum which cleans your mouth). Participating Brands and Updated Package Design Details (via Packaging World):

• Pantene is introducing a unique bottle made with lightweight, durable aluminum for its shampoo and conditioner.
• Tide is participating in Loop with its Tide purclean plant-based laundry detergent in a new durable bottle made from stainless steel with a simple twist-cap and easy-pour spout.
• Cascade, continually looking for ways to make the dish cleaning experience better and environmentally friendly, has developed a new ultra-durable packaging for Cascade ActionPacs, which enable consumers to skip the prewash.
• Crest is introducing new Crest Platinum mouthwash, a unique formula that delivers fresh breath and stain prevention in a sustainable, refillable glass bottle.
• Ariel and Febreze are participating with durable, refillable packaging that is also available in stores, testing a new direct-to-consumer refill-and-reuse model.

Once you’re done with the containers, all you have to do is store the containers back in the provided tote bag (no cleaning needed) and call Loop to pick it up. You’ll get your deposit back and have free space to store new shopping items.

Make your recycling efforts go further – and make a difference for our planet – with our easy tips. A lot of us already set aside plastic milk jugs, glass bottles and old newspapers for the recycling bin. But with Earth Day approaching, it doesn’t hurt to ask: Could we all be doing more? A lot of times, our good intentions to help the planet are thwarted by recycling incorrectly or simply not knowing what can be recycled. If you’re looking to pitch in more – or even to just get started! – check out our easy-to-follow tips. Start at the Supermarket Assess your shopping habits and think about the items you buy that produce the most waste. Look at foods packaged in unnecessary plastic wrap or products in needlessly excessive packaging. Be more mindful and decide if there’s an eco-friendlier way to purchase what you need. For example, you can buy loose fruit and vegetables instead of pre-packaged ones. If you’re stumped about how to recycle certain essential items like empty detergent containers or used air fresheners, check out TerraCycle, an innovative recycling company that specializes in recycling hard-to-recycle waste and offers a number of programs and initiatives to make the process easier. For instance, Tide laundry detergent bottles and caps and Febreze FABRIC, ONE, PLUG and CAR products are all fully recyclable through TerraCycle drop-off locations around the country, and they also offer an at-home recycling program for these products. Know How to Recycle Plastic Bags Shoppers worldwide use 500 billion single-use plastic bags each year, which often become part of the estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris floating in our oceans today. Because they take so long to break down, they repeatedly contribute to the more than 100,000 marine creatures that die each year after getting tangled in plastic. You might already know the impact that discarded plastic bags have on the environment, but did you know that they usually can’t be processed by regular recycling plants? Instead, separate plastic bags from the rest of your recycling and drop them off at a special plastic bag collection point – most grocery stores have them. Make Your Morning Coffee Offer(s) you can use near  10001 New York, NY (Change) You’re probably conscious of everyday recycling at home, but sometimes that mindset gets pushed aside when you’re out and about. Most disposable coffee cups, for example, are lined with polyethylene, which makes them nonrecyclable. It is estimated that every minute more than 1 million disposable cups are tossed in the trash. Invest in a reusable coffee cup instead, and use a drop of Dawn dish soap to wash it after every use so it’s ready whenever you need it. Repair, Share and Reuse Sweden is leading the way in recycling – it has sent only 1 percent of its waste to landfill since 2011. Much of their success comes from the Swedish ethos of miljönär-vänlig – a play on the Swedish words for environment and millionaire that suggests people can save cash as well as the environment by making, borrowing and recycling. Internalize this idea and repair any damaged clothes, or have a dress swap party with your friends so your unwanted garments can find a new wearer. You can also extend the life of your clothing by washing it with Downy fabric conditioner, which helps prevent pilling, stretching and fading in fabrics. And think of crafty ways to use items you’d otherwise toss: Jam jars can be turned into candle holders, and old tights can be used to store onions. Wash and Squash By cleaning your recycling before it goes in the bin, you reduce contamination and improve recycling efficiency. First, scrape off or remove any food leftovers or liquid. Then add a drop of Dawn dish soap and a small amount of water to containers and jugs, and swish vigorously for a few seconds before rinsing. Crush metal cans and squash plastic bottles to squeeze out any excess air, and flatten cardboard boxes. Think Beyond Paper, Tin and Glass Before throwing out an item, consider whether it can be recycled. Mattresses are full of valuable materials and can be dropped off at your local recycling center, along with many small electrical appliances. Look for battery recycling boxes in your area, and ask your local optician’s office about recycling old reading glasses. Wrapping paper can be recycled as long as you remove the sticky tape and it doesn’t have foil or glitter on it. Unfortunately, broken drinking glasses can’t be processed with your empty jars because the glass melts at a different temperature, and mixing in broken glass with recyclable glass can cause the whole container to be rejected. Instead, check with your local recycling center if you’re unsure. Are you a recycling superhero saving the planet one recycled item at a time? Let us know your best recycling tip in the comments section below!  

So, you’ve decided to go plastic-free. The only problem is, you’ve spent these many years accumulated plastic products, single-use or otherwise. Your bathroom is full of plastic shampoo bottles, the fridge has tons of food in plastic containers, who knows what other plastic products are lurking in the living room, your work desk, and otherwise? Maybe you’re wondering: What the heck should you do with all the plastic you already have?

This is where Terracycle comes in! Terracycle is a privately-owned U.S. recycling business that accepts tons of hard-to-recycle materials. More than 80,000,000 people use Terracycle and together, users have recycled 4,104,054,370 items that otherwise would have went to the landfill.

Terracycle recycles nearly everything; from coffee capsules and pens to gloves and makeup containers, Terracycle collects from individuals and companies alike, diverting tons of pounds of unrecyclable, non-biodegradable waste from landfills.

Registering for Terracycle is completely free. After registering, browse through the website to find the right recycling program for you. There are tons! Just to name a few, there is a fabric care recycling program, which collects products and packaging like #5 PP plastic laundry bottle caps, #2 HDPE rigid plastic laundry bottles, and paperboard laundry care packaging.

That’s only one example; Terracycle has so many recycling programs: a free drink pouch recycling program on Walmart.com, an Eos recycling program, a red Solo cup recycling program, and more. Other programs include Febreze bottles, Flonase, energy bar wrappers, Tom’s of Maine natural care products (like the toothpaste at Trader Joe’s!), and Barilla pasta.

After signing up for the individual recycling programs that make the most sense for your household and the waste you create, Terracycle will email you a prepaid shipping label. (Alternatively, for some recycling programs, Terracycle will provide a drop-off location, but most are send-away.) Adhere the prepaid shipping label to a box full of the products you’d like to recycle, then ship it out. Terracycle will reward you in a points system and eventually, you’ll get rid of all that plastic!

During the holiday season, Terracycle offered a Holiday Bonus Bucks program in conjunction with Feed America. Frequent Terracycle recyclers were able to give back to charity the more points accrued. Just 50 Terracycle points provides a meal for an American family facing hunger. Alternatively, if you have a different charity you’d like to donate to, instead of Feeding America, you were able to specify which one you’d like to contribute to.

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1. A copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up because the first step to a truly decluttered space is actually getting rid of stuff — and this will show you how.

    I mean yes, you can also totally watch the Netflix show an learn everything you need to know to get started! But the book's packed with extra motivation and tips. (Although I don't think it's the end-all be-all of how to live, I've used her system for my clothes and shoes, and it really does work.) Promising review: "It's soaked with knowledge and super inspiring! As a chronically messy person, this book completely changed my perspective on 'tidying,' what to throw away or get rid of, and how to find joy in your space again, how to reclaim it! Honestly pretty awakening, and I think absolutely everyone could learn something from it." —rainydayshopping Get it from Amazon for $10.45, Barnes & Noble for $10.58, Indiebound, or find a copy at your local library. (If the whole system seems a little — or very — impractical to you, though, I also recommend Rachel Hoffman's Unf*ck Your Habitat, $15.29 on Amazon).

2. A Zero-Waste Box from Terracycle, where you (or you + your neighbors, or high school, or dorm) team up to buy a box that you then stuff with hard-to-recycle items, and mail back to Terracycle to be recycled.

    Yes, basically you're paying for your stuff to be recycled (the reason your curbside collection doesn't take all of the things = recyclers want to make money. If they can't make money on it, then you have to pay for it to happen). Read more on Terracycle, and order a small "everything" box (well, almost everything) for $184, or a beauty products and packaging pouch for $41. There are also tons of free recycling programs through Terracycle, where the companies pay for you to recycle the stuff you bought from them (that your municipal program won't accept). And these aren't only hippie/earthy brands! They include Colgate, eos, Febreeze, Flonase, Hasbro Toys, and many others.