Henry Moynahan Rich spent his summer being haunted by trash. He needed to figure out how to eliminate it completely. In July, his company, Oberon Group, closed the Fort Greene restaurant Mettā with a goal of reopening it in the fall as the first truly zero-waste restaurant in New York and possibly in all of America. That meant not only the restaurant’s waste, which he could control, but also the gum, empty cups, and hygiene products his customers would bring in.   “We have to be honest,” he explains. “This is going to be an inconvenience to guests, and we’re in the hospitality business.” He’s not excited about the prospect of saying no to his customers: “People are going to say, ‘I’m paying you. Can’t you throw this away for me?’ And we’re gonna have to be like, ‘Nope, sorry. We actually don’t have a means of dealing with this here.’”   In reality, Mettā had been trending this way for some time. In 2017, Rich, Oberon deputy director Halley Chambers, and the rest of the team had made it New York’s first carbon-neutral restaurant. Everything was cooked over a single fire fed with responsibly forested local wood, the group bought renewable energy, and the remaining emissions (the equivalent of roughly 50,000 gallons of gas per year) were offset by investments in carbon-negative initiatives. Leftover citrus rinds at the bar were turned into salt, and the kitchen stored gallons of fermented ingredients.   Now they’ve gone all in, and the restaurant is slated to reopen later this month. The space looks the same, but Mettā will be renamed Rhodora, after a Ralph Waldo Emerson poem. The hope is the new model will create a template that other restaurateurs, and the companies they work with, can follow to cut down on or eliminate their own waste. Oberon has sourced wines in compostable boxes, dropped liquor brands that use unrecyclable caps (that’s more than you might think), found a dishwasher that uses electrolyzed water to eliminate the need for soap, gotten rid of paper receipts, tracked down a nonprofit called ReCORK that turns used wine corks into shoe soles, and, at least for now, has retired the Francis Mallmann–inspired oven. (For that matter, Oberon’s other businesses — including June, the Cobble Hill wine bar, and a catering arm called Purslane, which is already waste free — operate with sustainability in mind too.)   As Chambers explains, “the food world has traditionally done such a poor job of being environmental stewards — if we can build a model of a sustainable trash-free relationship, suppliers can start replicating it.” Restaurants sometimes use the term zero waste to refer to a nose-to-tail, stem-to-root ethos in the kitchen. And in fact, Rich first tried to remove kitchen waste completely when the restaurant was still Mettā. Doing so while the place was up and running proved too difficult, however. “Trying to reverse engineer it would never work,” Rich says. At Rhodora, the focus will be on natural wine and simple food, so the restaurant can extend its mission even to its suppliers. “The entire company doesn’t have to be trash free,” Chambers explains, “but our direct relationship with them does.”   So all cheeses must be used in their entirety (no inedible wax rinds) and delivered in reusable containers. Brooklyn butcher shop Marlow & Daughters will bicycle over cured meats, jars of chicken-liver mousse, and pickled veggies. Marlow’s sister bakery, She Wolf, will do the same with bread — initially, rye loaves, ciabattas, and baguettes. Le Petit Poisson, a tiny Brooklyn distributor that pushes sustainability, has offered to deliver oysters in what are likely New York’s first returnable oyster packs. Spent shells, meanwhile, will go to the Billion Oyster Project to help restore New York’s waterways. Anything guests leave on their plates will be fed into a commercial-grade composter, along with shredded-up bits of any cardboard packaging. Perhaps counterintuitively, many of the wines will come from France. Rich’s position is that he’d rather offset the emissions caused by importing natural wines from an artisanal winemaker overseas (a sliver of the bottle’s total carbon footprint, anyway) than buy from closer producers whose principles are less aligned with Rhodora’s.   In addition to waste, something else will be notably absent from Rhodora: a chef. The menu lands between substantial bar snacks and light dinner fare — oysters and seafood conservas, cheese and charcuterie, sliced bread, a few other basic items like a bitter-greens salad and pickled vegetables. Staff won’t need culinary skills beyond the ability to shuck oysters, dress a salad, and plate a cheese board. That was intentional because Rich also wants Rhodora to jettison traditional restaurant roles, particularly the part about porters and bussers cleaning up everyone’s mess. “The whole idea is taking responsibility for your own waste,” Rich explains. “It felt weird to have a guy running around cleaning up after everybody.” They hired a team of half a dozen, and, depending on the night, an employee might prepare oysters, recommend wines, or mix cocktails. Cleaning and educating diners about zero waste are duties everyone splits, and they all receive profit shares.   Even though Rhodora is unique among New York restaurants, Rich and his team have leaned on sustainability pioneers industrywide since Mettā’s start. The move to carbon neutrality, for example, was inspired by Anthony Myint, the Mission Chinese Food co-founder who now runs Zero Foodprint, a nonprofit focused on fighting the climate crisis, which boasts partners such as Noma, Osteria Francescana, and El Celler de Can Roca. (“Henry and the folks at Mettā are like our kindred spirits on the East Coast,” Myint says.) They also worked with the chef Doug McMaster, who runs Silo in London, the U.K.’s first zero-waste restaurant. (Five years in, Silo kilns its own plates from plastic bags, upcycles food packaging into tables, and sports a carbon-negative floor made from bombproof cork.) Last November, Oberon co-hosted a zero-waste pop-up with McMaster and Lauren Singer, of Williamsburg’s zero-waste home-goods store Package Free.   Which brings us back to the trash: Even though Rich knew how to eliminate the waste his staff and partners would create, he still needed to take care of customer-generated rubbish, especially in the restrooms. Package Free, like many retail shops, simply doesn’t have a bathroom, so Singer never had to devise a plan for customer trash. When Rich asked McMaster how Silo had solved the problem, the chef was confused; the U.K. has companies that specialize in recycling the bathroom waste products that had Oberon stumped.   The group considered opening with a sign in the restroom that asked guests to brainstorm solutions. A few weeks ago, though, it found an answer. To recycle Saran wrap, Mettā had used a New Jersey–based company called TerraCycle that runs a curbside-pickup program for difficult-to-recycle items: cigarette butts, gum, cooking oil, batteries, even hazardous waste. It would be expensive — “a box may cost you $800,” Rich says — but that waste wouldn’t be a problem. They’ll have two TerraCycle boxes, one in the bathroom, another for random litter that guests leave on the bar or tables.   Still, it’s another cost in a low-margin industry that Rhodora will have to absorb, at least until a better option presents itself. “If zero waste is our mission, the entire program has to be built around that,” Rich says, pointing out that his goal is to start with sustainability and turn that idea into the same thing every operator wants: a place with delicious, affordable food where customers return again and again. “Sustainability can’t be a special-occasion thing,” he argues, “because if that is the case, this movement will fail.”

McMaster and other large clients of Waste Connections informed that ‘mixed recyclables’ are doomed for landfill

Garbage hit a breakthrough at McMaster University when 916 metric tonnes of trash was sent to the landfill in 2018 — the first year in a five-year auditing trail that the Hamilton institution recycled and composted more waste than it dumped.   Despite the milestone, McMaster's 2018 waste diversion rate of 54 per cent was still short of the provincial objective of diverting 60 per cent of waste from the landfill.   The feat is attainable. Mohawk accomplished a 71 per cent diversion rate at its Stoney Creek campus and 65 per cent at its Fennell campus with a total of 283 metric tonnes sent to the landfill from both locations.   As McMaster stepped up efforts to improve its diversion score this year, unwelcome news arrived in June when its garbage contractor Waste Connections gave notice to the school and other large private clients in Hamilton that bins with mixed recycling materials would be sent to landfill because of more stringent requirements at the Asian plants that process plastic, paper and other materials.   "We're been told that there is no market for co-mingled recyclables — that's why we are now separating on campus to ensure they can be recycled," said Gord Arbeau, director of communications at McMaster.   The success of specific labelling and extra effort needed to separate recycled materials at the student's union food court, library and in residences will be proven out in the next waste audit at McMaster expected to be run this fall.   For the waste audit last November, trash was gathered from six areas of the campus over two days. Consultant Waste Reduction analyzed 574 kilograms of trash and determined that the McMaster Student Centre, Mills Library and Brandon Hall generate the most garbage among the sites that also included Hamilton Hall, the John Hodgins Engineering and Burke Science buildings.   Improvements over 2016 and 2017 in waste reduction were noted in the category of mixed containers — down to 10.8 per cent of the audited waste in 2018 from 15.8 per cent in 2016, but paper towels climbed slightly to 13.6 per cent.   In the category of non-recyclables, the percentage jumped to 33 per cent of the audited waste at Mac versus six per cent in 2016.   The term "non-recyclables" is not a dirty word to TerraCycle, part-owned by Waste Connections that handles McMaster's waste.   The company, founded by a Toronto entrepreneur, does a steady business recycling chip bags, candy wrappers and even cigarette butts, finding markets and products for these traditionally non-recyclable materials within the 20 countries in which it operates.   Its 350 employees and $40-million-a-year operation is funded by the major consumer brands and retailers who make and sell razor blades, infant car seats and packaging that goes with it. It's one of many offspring of the emerging circular economy that is turning attention to the corporate world as a financing source for solutions to problems it had a hand in creating.   While plastic and other materials overflow in ports across Asia in the aftermath of curtailed imports by Chinese recycling plants, TerraCycle has been largely unaffected, said Brett Stevens, the New Jersey-based company's global vice-president of material sales and procurement.   "I'm not relying on the same Chinese markets which used low-cost manually sorting of this this stuff to get it usable again."   Instead, Stevens seeks out product manufacturers "to not only get them to implement recycled product instead of the virgin content they're using, but to get them to think out of the box."   An example he cites is the use of cigarette butts as a substitute for wood fibre in the composite decking materials sold at large home improvement centres.   For the governments and institutions that have depended heavily on traditional recycling practices, he has little sympathy.   "China had warned all these countries for years that they had to clean up and improve the quality of their bales or they would be shut out," Stevens said.   "I think it was just a long-term game of chicken and that nobody thought China would ever actually do it."  

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.

The beauty industry is constantly evolving. Beyond the passing fads, transient buzzwords, and vacillating preferences for eyebrow grooming, the beauty world reflects our cultural ethos in salient ways. If we look at the beauty brands considered to be movers and shakers of our time, each one offers a new perspective. What begin as anomalies eventually become the industry standard—from ideation, production, distribution, to consumption.   To get an idea of the current climate—and get inspired about what's to come—we thought it appropriate to speak with the ones shaping the new generation of beauty brands (and instilling positive change). We reached out to 13 modern-day beauty founders who are rewriting the rules of the industry. We had them share what they think of the current state and spill what they'd like to see changed—and how they're working toward changing it. Here's what they had to say.  

Valerie Grandury, founder of Odacité

  "When I launched Odacité exactly 10 years ago, we pioneered the clean beauty movement and carved a new path in beauty. I created Odacité to bridge the expertise of French skincare with the green California lifestyle (as I'm from Paris and live in L.A.). While a decade ago [the brand] was completely disruptive, today the clean beauty movement is becoming the fastest-growing segment of the beauty industry.   "The big challenge now is for consumers to avoid 'clean washing,' a phenomenon happening with so many brands coming to the market (those that feature less-than-clean formulas but market themselves otherwise). I would love to see a standard created for clean beauty so you can trust that the products you buy will be fabulous for your skin and for your health."

Sasha Plavsic, founder of ILIA

  “I would like to see more from brands and retailers around packaging after it's been used. There seems to be a lot around making sustainable packaging but not a lot on how to responsibly dispose of it after use. Most just end of in the garbage and landfill even if certain parts are recyclable.   "At ILIA, we are launching an initiative with TerraCycle this fall, whereby customers can send us their empties from any brand in cosmetics and we will break them down and recycle the parts. If every brand was required to do this globally, just imagine how much wouldn’t make it to a landfill. I believe this is the future for all industries.”

Michelle Ranavat, founder of Ranavat Botanics

  "I’d love to see brands create a deep connection with people and build a real sense of community. Bobby Hundreds (the founder of the clothing line The Hundreds) always said 'people over product.' Ultimately, we yearn for something more than just a product—beauty and skincare are a way for us to connect on a deeper level.   "For me, skincare has always been about getting back to my roots. I love uncovering an herb that was long forgotten like manjistha and discovering its incredible detoxifying value or even just imagining for one moment what it might feel like to be a king or queen bathing in saffron and roses. It is this connection to my past that really allows me to connect to where I came from, giving my ritual a much deeper meaning."

Caroline Owusu-Ansah, founder of Luv Scrub

  "We need more inclusivity when it comes to highlighting beauty products from around the globe. There is currently a focus on K beauty (Korean) and A beauty (Australian) but there are so many other amazing beauty products out in the world.   "I feel that African beauty does not get the recognition that it deserves. There are a wealth of products based off of traditions that are a big opportunity for business. For example, in West Africa we have beauty staples like shea butter, cocoa butter, and black soap, just to name a few. Our products make skin flawless, are simple, natural, and from the earth. A few of these staples have been trickling into mainstream skincare—which is great—but there is still so much more we have to offer that can benefit everyone.   "That is why I felt it was important to share with the world our Mesh Body Exfoliator. It is another taste of what West African Beauty has to offer in skincare. At LUV SCRUB, we are working hard to educate consumers on all the amazing benefits—and why you must throw your loofah away! I am excited to help grow the African Beauty category and make this beauty ritual more mainstream."

Howard McLaren, co-founder and creative director of R+Co

  "I feel the beauty industry is lagging in cleaning up products and packaging, especially what’s in the fragrance. I’m not sure why more brands are not vegan. We have the smartest consumers and they are asking for more transparency with brands, and that pushed R+Co to become totally vegan."

Thom Priano, celebrity men’s stylist and co-founder of R+Co

  "I have been a vegan for over ten years. During this journey, I am vested in what I put in my body, I read labels, and I certainly don’t put anything in my mouth that I can’t pronounce. The beauty business needs to be more transparent about the ingredients that are used. After all, anything you use on your body is absorbed into the skin and into your bloodstream.   "R+Co is one voice. We have made this a completely vegan brand. We don’t want to harm animals, there are enough resources out there that we can develop products without using the blood of animals. We can get rid of petroleum-based formulas that are not good for you and the environment. 'Vegan,' 'organic' and 'natural' are the words that the consumer should be looking for when buying today and in the future."

Leila Aalam, founder of Beuti Skincare

  "I would love to see more brands showcasing what real women and men look like in their marketing efforts and ditching the manipulated and photoshopped imagery. At Beuti Skincare we are dedicated to honoring the individuality in each of us and celebrating all of what makes each of us unique with each blemish, bump, and crease. We have chosen to spell our brand "Beuti" and not "Beauty" to illustrate how we recognize each individuals skincare needs."

Dr. Iris Rubin, dermatologist and co-founder, SEEN Hair Care

  "I would love to see an expansion of the conversation about natural or organic beauty products. In general, I'm a fan of natural and organic ingredients, especially for foods. However, just because something is natural or organic does not mean it’s skin-friendly. For example, poison ivy is 100 percent natural! At SEEN, we use many natural ingredients, as well as safe synthetic ingredients, to achieve the best functioning products. SEEN skin-caring hair care products are also formulated without sulfates, silicones, phthalates, parabens, dyes, gluten or animal testing."

Lorin Van Zandt, founder of MISSIO Hair

  “As a beauty industry professional who ventured to use my gifts in a non-traditional sense, serving women in need, I have seen how what I do has the potential to impact the lives of others in tremendous ways. Hairstylists have a unique advantage to impact the lives of so many women and I believe we have barely tapped into the platform we have for making a difference, not just in the lives of those in our chairs, but beyond the salon. Through MISSIO, we are unlocking the potential of the industry to use beauty to restore hope and fight human trafficking. By educating the salon industry to recognize warning signs, inspiring and mobilizing stylists to serve women at-risk or in recovery in their communities, and giving to organizations that are helping victims, we are making a true difference—one hair product at a time! Moving forward, I’d like to see more companies use their platform for good. I believe we have barely tapped into the true difference we can make through this industry.”

Annie Tevelin, host of Off The Record podcast and founder of SkinOwl

  "At SkinOwl, our brand is named after one of the magical forest creatures of the world: the owl. We have always honored the importance of ethical treatment of our world's animals and hope for stronger reform for cruelty-free testing across the board and globally.   "Second, in the world of skincare, marketing terms like 'clean' and 'organic' and 'natural' are loosely regulated and often misleading. The reality is you can't always trust every single brand sitting on a retailer's shelf and you do need to do your own research. My hope is that lawmakers start taking regulatory and formulation reform seriously so that we can continue to protect and conserve our country's health.   "Third, we are fully engaged in a digital age where brands feel the next steps to attain success and visibility is to further their digital platform. Digitalization in the beauty space is on the move with applications where you can try on a variety of lipstick shades in the comfort of your own home or exercise with a virtual workout partner in your living room or office. At SkinOwl, we see the immense value technology has brought to the table, but we also hold close to our heart the value face to face interaction provides. As a brand, we are constantly creating interactive experiences where individuals get a chance to meet the founders, feel the product and experience the brand from a 360 view. For example, in 2017 we introduced The Parliament Project a workshop dinner series where people from all different backgrounds meet, unplug and get to know themselves and others on a deeper level."

Parisa Morris, founder of Town & Anchor

  “The modern beauty consumer cares about what they're buying and the impact their products have on the planet. As an environmentally conscious beauty brand, we firmly believe in these ideals and the importance of creating great products, without sacrificing sustainability or animal rights. But the issue is there’s still a lack of transparency in our industry. Moving forward, I’d like to see a change in this and in the 'greenwashing' that has become so prominent in consumer marketing, especially in the beauty industry. There is a much larger issue here in terms of ineffective regulation, but there’s still so much that we, as leaders in the industry, can do to make positive change. At Town & Anchor, we really want to further the conversation on sustainability and are dedicated to using our platform to create real change. To initiate that, we recently launched BIDE Market, which will be Chicago’s first entirely sustainable market. Beyond the market itself, we want to create an inclusive community on social media where we talk about these issues, ask important questions and offer resources to one another.”

Emilie Hoyt, founder of Lather

  "The beauty industry is evolving in exciting ways. For far too long, the industry was solely focused on changing your appearance and how you feel on the outside.  Now we are seeing a shift to providing products that change how you feel on the outside and the inside. Beauty used to be tied to fashion and trends and now we are seeing more tied to wellness and health. I am proud that Lather has been a leader in this movement. It’s been inspiring to see women rise up and question their beauty products and put their health first.   "I’d like to see regulations on artificial fragrances in beauty and health products. The fact that products still contain ingredients that are not disclosed is unacceptable. Beauty brands need to be accountable for each ingredient they use and the impact not only on the user's health but the environment as well. Only a portion of artificial fragrances have been tested for side effects and the tests done are primarily skin irritation tests. The impact on neurological, respiratory, reproductive systems, not to mention the impact on our air quality and oceans."

Dr. Kan Cao, scientist and founder of Bluelene

  "The sun is the biggest offender to the health of our skin. What many consumers don't understand is that an SPF factor only addresses UVB exposure to prevent sunburns and possibly skin cancer; the other part of the solar spectrum, UVA exposure actually causes photoaging, which leads to age symptoms like wrinkles and sagging skin. In fact, consumers stay in the sun longer now as they feel protected by-products that have an SPF with the result of unknowingly damaging their skin. It has been extremely difficult to get new sunscreen ingredients approved by the FDA and so the industry continues to focus its messaging on SPF.   "My lab is conducting research now on new ingredients that could provide both UVB and UVA protection, but I need the industry to push so the FDA will consider novel ingredients that protect us holistically."

  Subaru of America’s marketing messaging centers around the Subaru Love Promise, and one of those promises is “Subaru Loves the Earth.” While the brand is involved in a number of sustainable and earth-friendly initiatives, for the first time, Subaru aimed its promise at its events, creating for its National Business Conference for Subaru dealers, a zero-waste event experience. In fact, some 33,000 pounds of trash was diverted from landfills.   The show, held this year in June at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, attracted more than 2,000 attendees and was designed to celebrate the previous year’s successes and offer news from executives on the coming year as well as long-term goals. Ultimately, retailers leave the National Business Conference armed with insights to improve their businesses. And, as was the case this year, they left with insights to inspire green initiatives in their businesses, too.   “We’ve always strived to be environmentally-friendly. We definitely believe that in our plants, which are zero-landfill,” says Todd Lawrence, auto shows event manager, Subaru of America. “We figured if we can do it in our automotive plants making cars, we should be able to do that at a conference.”   For Lawrence, the idea of a zero-waste event seemed “far-fetched” at first. “We found ways to make it happen, so you have to just try to overcome obstacles and believe it can be done,” he says. Here, tips on keeping an earth-friendly promise, the Subaru way.  

Find a green partner.

  In addition to working closely with Mandalay Bay to determine waste streams and the best ways to solve them, Subaru partnered with the organization TerraCycle, which, according to its mission statement, can recycle “nearly everything.” Materials that could not be recycled and would have otherwise been sent to the landfill were donated to that organization, which turns waste into thinks like park benches, playground equipment and other civic-oriented products.  

Rethink your furniture.

  Rather than rent furniture from convention centers, Subaru buys it all directly through online retailer Wayfair. After its shows, Subaru then donates the furniture to local organizations. In Las Vegas, the furniture went to Veterans Village, which provides housing for displaced veterans. The carpet was donated to the local Habitat for Humanity chapter.   Food was donated, as well. Subaru donated extra food from the show to local charities and sent food scraps to local farms to feed animals.  

Build it into communications.

  Throughout the show, attendees were immersed in the zero-waste goal of the event. Subaru ceo Tomomi Nakamura discussed it as part of his general session address on the first night, and attendees were able to see the mission in action as they walked the grounds. In fact, at each recycling and trash station, there was a brand ambassador stationed to make sure attendees knew what the brand was doing, and exactly how to sort their waste.   “Subaru strives to be more than a car company. We want to do what’s right for the communities where we are and we push that down,” Lawrence says. “One of the goals of the conference is getting our retailers on board with that and we want our retailers to do similar things within their communities. This was a way to show that we’re walking the walk, not just talking the talk.” Agency: One10, Los Angeles.    

If you’re looking for somewhere to ditch an old car seat, Walmart has a deal for you.   The retail giant announced that from Monday to Sept. 30 it will offer customers a $30 gift card if they trade in an old seat. The promotion is good at nearly 4,000 U.S. stores.   If you’re interested in cashing in, contact Walmart Customer Service. There is a limit of two gift cards per household and booster-seat recycling is not included in this event.   “Safety — especially car seat safety — is a top priority for Walmart’s Baby department, so we wanted to use our size and scale to create an event that offered unprecedented access to trade in an outgrown car seat,” Walmart Baby Vice President Melody Richards said in a statement.   She added that sustainability is of “equal importance. So we’re happy to work with TerraCycle who will recycle every component of the car seats.”   The promotion comes as part of National Baby Safety Month and is held in conjunction with TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based recycling business that works with manufacturers to reprocess difficult products that would normally be thrown away.    

Parents with car seats their kids have outgrown, listen up: Walmart is offering a sweet deal — that also helps the environment.   Beginning Monday and running through Sept. 30, the retail giant is running a program where shoppers can bring their old car seats to a store’s Customer Service department in exchange for a $30 gift card that can be used online or in-store, Walmart shares in a release.   The company’s inaugural Car Seat Recycling Event, in honor of National Baby Safety Month, is being held in conjunction with TerraCycle, “and each component will be diverted from the landfill,” the release states.   Vice President of Walmart Baby, Melody Richards, says in the release that car-seat safety “is a top priority for Walmart's Baby department, so we wanted to use our size and scale to create an event that offered unprecedented access to trade in an outgrown car seat for a gift card — perfect for using on your baby’s next car seat.”  

(CNN) Walmart is partnering with TerraCycle -- a global waste management company that works with consumer product companies, retailers, cities and facilities to recycle "difficult-to-recycle" products and packaging -- to offer the nation's largest car seat recycling event, with nearly 4,000 Walmarts participating across the country.   People who participate in the program will receive a $30 gift card to Walmart for trading in their old car seats. The program began Monday and runs through September 30 in celebration of National Baby Safety Month.   TerraCycle founder and CEO Tom Skazy expects to "divert the plastic equivalent of approximately 35 million water bottles from landfills."   "Through the Walmart Car Seat Recycling Program, traditionally non-recyclable car seats are now nationally recyclable," said Szaky. "We are proud to work with this forward-thinking company to offer families from coast-to-coast a way to give their car seat, the item that has kept their little ones safe, a second life."   Using a material disassembly model for car seat recycling, TerraCycle will work with subcontractors around the country to take the car seats apart and separate them by their components. Once disassembled, the company will use each component to be processed further into a usable raw material in order to manufacture new products.   All of the work will be done in the US, and none of the car seat materials will make it into a landfill or be incinerated, said Brett Stevens, TerraCycle's global vice president of material sales and procurement.   "Safety -- especially car seat safety -- is a top priority for Walmart's Baby department, so we wanted to use our size and scale to create an event that offered unprecedented access to trade in an outgrown car seat for a gift card -- perfect for using on your baby's next car seat," said Walmart Baby Vice President Melody Richards. "Sustainability is of equal importance to Walmart, so we're happy to work with TerraCycle who will recycle every component of the car seats."   While this is not the first time that TerraCycle has worked with Walmart, this is the first time that the two companies have teamed up to offer Walmart's first national take-back program for car seats.   "TerraCycle's mission is to eliminate the idea of waste by collecting and recycling traditionally non-recyclable materials," Stevens told CNN. "Anytime we can team up with a retailer or consumer goods company to drive awareness around the fact that these everyday items can see another life, we are happy to be involved."  

Need to clean out your garage and get a little extra spending money? Walmart is hosting a child car seat recycling event this week that will pay $30 for seats your child has outgrown.   Nearly 4,000 Walmart locations are taking park in the event, which runs through Sept. 30. Customers can take their used car seats to the service desk and receive a $30 Walmart gift card that can be used to buy items for their child.   Parents can swap up to two seats per household and booster seats are not eligible for trade-in.   The event is being done as part of the company's observation of National Baby Safety Month. Walmart is working with TerraCycle to recycle the car seats and keep them out of landfills.   “Through the Walmart Car Seat Recycling Program, traditionally non-recyclable car seats are now nationally recyclable,” said Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle in a statement. “Through this event, we expect to divert the plastic equivalent of approximately 35 million water bottles from landfills.”   Competitor Target recently completed a car seat trade in event. Life to date, that retailer says it has recycled 11.9 million pounds of old car seats.   The program comes as Walmart looks for ways to keep its competitive edge against Amazon and other large retailers. The company is also more susceptible to the China tariffs than some other retailers, because so many of its products are made in that country.

Walmart is doubling down on car seat safety for National Baby Safety Month with a first-of-its-kind recycling event. The longtime top retailer kicked off a car seat trade-in event Monday that will span nearly 4,000 Walmart stores in the U.S. until Sept. 30, according to Walmart. Customers can take used car seats to the service desk at participating stores and trade it in for a $30 Walmart gift card that can then be put towards other baby items and used online or in stores. Walmart joined forces with private recycling company, TerraCycle, for the sustainability initiative and said each component of "traditionally non-recyclable car seats" will be diverted from the landfill.   "Safety -- especially car seat safety -- is a top priority for Walmart’s Baby department, so we wanted to use our size and scale to create an event that offered unprecedented access to trade in an outgrown car seat for a gift card," Melody Richards, vice president of Walmart Baby, said in a statement.   TerraCycle CEO and founder, Tom Szaky, added, "We are proud to work with this forward-thinking company to offer families from coast-to-coast a way to give their car seat, the item that has kept their little ones safe, a second-life. Through this event, we expect to divert the plastic equivalent of approximately 35 million water bottles from landfills."   For more about the gift card terms and conditions visit the company's website.