Marathons, triathlons, mud runs and Ironman competitions—these are just a few of the popular races and events you’ll find popping up in every state around the U.S. today. Americans are becoming increasingly more health conscious, and participation in these events rises every year; the Tough Mudder mud run alone has seen over 1.3 million participants since its inception in 2010. But these high intensity events have one particularly unanticipated problem: energy bar and other performance product packaging waste. Meal replacement bars, energy shots and gel chews have skyrocketed in popularity, in part due to the surge in the number of endurance events. In 2011 for example, U.S. retail sales for nutrition and energy bars was estimated to be around $1.7 billion, 71% higher than in 2006. As the sales of these energy products increase, trails of packaging are left to accumulate on event grounds. Competitions and races each have their own set of volunteers who sign up to help run events. With hundreds, sometimes thousands of volunteers at each competition, cleaning up can be completed quickly—but how efficiently? As volunteers go through the effort to clean up massive amounts of litter, separation becomes especially difficult as countless pieces of trash and packaging are thrown into the wrong waste streams, inevitably ending up in landfill. Thankfully, there are organizations that help manage and arrange waste-reduction efforts for event staff. One association, called The Council for Responsible Sport, is looking to make a change in the way competitions handle all of their sustainability efforts. The Council evaluates what efforts are being made by the event to become eco-friendly, and when specific criteria are met, the event is awarded a certification for their achievements. The certifications range based on the number of criterion met, from “Basic” to “Gold” Certification. A number of marathons have already taken impressive steps to clean up streets from packaging waste and other race debris. The Philadelphia Marathon, for example, achieved a Gold Certification from The Council for Responsible Sport after using the both the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and the Office of Civic Engagement to help educate race attendees about recycling, as well drive forth the goal to divert 75% of marathon waste from landfills. The Chevron Houston Marathon, also with Gold Certification, bans vendors from using Styrofoam packaging and food containers, also ensuring that a majority of all event-related waste is diverted from the landfill by taking both pre and post-race measures to educate attendees, and direct waste into its proper stream Organizations and government services do their fair share to help maintain the streets at the conclusion of the race, but how are consumer product companies themselves getting involved? TerraCycle, for example, partnered with energy bar producer Clif Bar & Company to collect and recycle energy bar wrappers, shots and packets, even repurposing the waste material into products such as recycling bins and bike racks. All of the waste gets diverted from a landfill, while subsequently being turned into useful, reusable products. Poland Springs is another good example, using its “RECYCLE 4 Humanity” campaign to help eliminate some of their own bottled water packaging waste. Before race weekend begins, Poland Springs sets up large clear bins throughout the course and Athletic Village so people can properly recycle their plastic bottles throughout the day. It doesn’t address the issue of consumption that leads to the issue in the first place, but at least it shows that consumer product companies are beginning to take responsibility for the packaging waste their products generate, “greening” these exciting and popular sporting events in the process. These races and city-run marathons are great for our increasingly health-conscious culture, but can strain resources and promote wastefulness if not managed properly. This is exactly why organizations like the Council for Responsible Sport are critical, and why sustainability efforts like TerraCycle and Clif’s are important to integrate into existing events to ensure that they aren’t just stewards of health and exercise, but of environmental responsibility and proper recycling practices as well.

No Brasil, a TerraCycle consegue dar um destino mais nobre ao BOPP. A empresa recebe as embalagens dos consumidores e com elas produz bolsas...

TerraCycle er en innovativ miljøvirksomhed der indsamler og genanvender affald, som i dag ikke bliver genanvendt af de nationale affaldssystemer. Læs artiklen her.

Tassimo s’est associé en 2012 au programme Terracycle pour recycler les capsules de ses 40 boissons. Cependant, jusqu’alors, je ne le connaissais pas et je pense que nous sommes très nombreux dans ce cas là. Le principe est très simple, vous mettez de côté vos TDISCS usagés, vous vous connectez sur le site Terracycle pour trouver le point de collecte le plus proche de chez vous puis vous les déposez quand vous le souhaitez. Ensuite,Terracycle prend le relais. Après vous avoir donné quelques détails sur le sujet, je vous propose une petit concours=)

Si vous utilisez la Machine Tassimo, je suis sure que que moi vous jetez à la fois vos emballages et vos TDISCS usagés... normal... Et bien nous allons changer de reflexe ! Tassimo a lancé en 2012 un ambitieux programme de recyclage de ses TDISCS en partenariat avec TerraCycle, acteur majeur de la collecte et de la réutilisation des déchets considérés traditionnellement comme non recyclables, qui sont généralement envoyés en centre de stockage ou d’incinération après usage.

NEW ORLEANS – In New Orleans, discarded butts are being turned into something useful.   The first of 50 cigarette butt recycling receptacles was installed at a downtown intersection Monday. Developers of the program say New Orleans is the first U.S. city to participate in a large-scale recycling effort launched in Canada last year.   Trenton, New Jersey-based recycling company TerraCycle Inc. developed the program in 2012. The first citywide receptacles were placed in Vancouver, B.C., in November 2013.   “Globally we have collected 25 million butts since November of 2012,” said company spokesman Albe Zakes, adding that the company is in talks with officials in Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo, Phoenix and Atlantic City, New Jersey.   Officials with the New Orleans Downtown Development District said joining the program was a no-brainer. Smokers flock to curbside trash bins and public benches for nicotine fixes, and smoking is still allowed in bars that do not serve food. The downtown area is just blocks from the French Quarter and is home to the huge Harrah’s Casino.   That adds up to a lot of cigarette butts.   Kurt Weigle, district president and CEO, said a one-day sweep in 2011 turned up nearly 7,000 cigarette butts downtown.   According to TerraCycle, New Orleans will be paid $4 for each pound of cigarette waste collected.   The organic materials, such as tobacco and paper, are composted.   Cigarette filters, though they look and feel like fiber, are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic. Once collected, they are shredded and bio-toxins removed with the use of gamma radiation, Zakes said.   “It’s the same exact process used on fish and other meats to assure there are no bio-contaminants, so it is very safe,” Zakes said.   The filters are then melted into plastic pellets for industrial use in the same way a plastic bottle would be recycled, Zakes said.   “We only use the pellets for industrial applications, such as plastic lumber and plastic shipping pallets,” he said. “We don’t make any consumer products from this material, mostly because of the stigma around butts.”   Outside a patio bar and restaurant about a block from where the first receptacle was installed Monday, 23-year-old Ryan Schumacher puffed on a cigarette and said the receptacles may help break some “bad habits.” Schumacher said he’s among many smokers guilty of throwing cigarette butts on the ground.   “I’m happy that we have somewhere to put our cigarette butts, now,” he said, but added that there will be smokers who just don’t care. “There’s still going to be the people who are stubborn about it and just throw it on the ground because that’s what they’re used to doing.”   Weigle said he is hopeful the receptacles will get used to help keep downtown clean, improve the quality of life for residents and visitors alike and promote environmental awareness.   “That’s something that’s important to us and our stakeholders, so every chance we get to become a greener downtown, we grasp it,” he said.

NEW ORLEANS – In New Orleans, discarded butts are being turned into something useful.   The first of 50 cigarette butt recycling receptacles was installed at a downtown intersection Monday. Developers of the program say New Orleans is the first U.S. city to participate in a large-scale recycling effort launched in Canada last year.   Trenton, New Jersey-based recycling company TerraCycle Inc. developed the program in 2012. The first citywide receptacles were placed in Vancouver, B.C., in November 2013.   “Globally we have collected 25 million butts since November of 2012,” said company spokesman Albe Zakes, adding that the company is in talks with officials in Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo, Phoenix and Atlantic City, New Jersey.   Officials with the New Orleans Downtown Development District said joining the program was a no-brainer. Smokers flock to curbside trash bins and public benches for nicotine fixes, and smoking is still allowed in bars that do not serve food. The downtown area is just blocks from the French Quarter and is home to the huge Harrah’s Casino.   That adds up to a lot of cigarette butts.   Kurt Weigle, district president and CEO, said a one-day sweep in 2011 turned up nearly 7,000 cigarette butts downtown.   According to TerraCycle, New Orleans will be paid $4 for each pound of cigarette waste collected.   The organic materials, such as tobacco and paper, are composted.   Cigarette filters, though they look and feel like fiber, are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic. Once collected, they are shredded and bio-toxins removed with the use of gamma radiation, Zakes said.   “It’s the same exact process used on fish and other meats to assure there are no bio-contaminants, so it is very safe,” Zakes said.   The filters are then melted into plastic pellets for industrial use in the same way a plastic bottle would be recycled, Zakes said.   “We only use the pellets for industrial applications, such as plastic lumber and plastic shipping pallets,” he said. “We don’t make any consumer products from this material, mostly because of the stigma around butts.”   Outside a patio bar and restaurant about a block from where the first receptacle was installed Monday, 23-year-old Ryan Schumacher puffed on a cigarette and said the receptacles may help break some “bad habits.” Schumacher said he’s among many smokers guilty of throwing cigarette butts on the ground.   “I’m happy that we have somewhere to put our cigarette butts, now,” he said, but added that there will be smokers who just don’t care. “There’s still going to be the people who are stubborn about it and just throw it on the ground because that’s what they’re used to doing.”   Weigle said he is hopeful the receptacles will get used to help keep downtown clean, improve the quality of life for residents and visitors alike and promote environmental awareness.   “That’s something that’s important to us and our stakeholders, so every chance we get to become a greener downtown, we grasp it,” he said.