TERRACYCLE NEWS

ELIMINATING THE IDEA OF WASTE®

Print companies land on Canada’s Greenest Employers list

TerraCycle Include Canada (English) ZWB
Symcor employees help clean up their local community at the annual Calgary Pathway and River Cleanup event.   Canon Canada, HP Canada, The Printing House, Symcor and Xerox Canada have been recognized as some of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2019, based on the criteria of Mediacorp Canada Inc., which manages Canadian employment programs and events. Now in its 12th year, Canada’s Greenest Employers is a competition that recognizes employers that create a culture of environmental awareness. Winning employers, selected by editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, are evaluated using four main criteria: Unique environmental initiatives or programs they have developed; whether they have been successful in reducing their own environmental footprint; whether their employees are involved in these programs and contribute unique skills; and whether their environmental initiatives have become linked to the employer’s public identity, attracting new employees or customers. “We are proud to be recognized for our continuing commitment to the environment and sustainability,” says Nobuhiko Kitajima, President and CEO of Canon Canada. “We are guided by our corporate philosophy, Kyosei — all people, regardless of race, religion or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future — and this recognition reflects our commitment to helping shape a more sustainable world for not only our local communities but also the global community at large.” Mediacorp explains some of the reasons why the following companies were selected as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers (2019), among a range of initiatives: • Canon Canada celebrated Earth Week by hosting its second annual Environmental Education Day and welcoming over 100 grade six and seven students for a day of fun awareness workshops, hosted in partnership with local organizations such as the Toronto Region Conservation Authority, Credit Valley Conservation, Earth Rangers, and the Ontario Clean Water Agency. • HP Canada manages a number of programs to help employees make healthy choices at home and at work, including a free onsite health screening clinic, wellness webinars on topics such as mindfulness and work-life balance, and a global wellness challenge to encourage employees to get physically active every week for a total of six weeks (employees receive redeemable points for participating). • HP Canada supports new mothers and fathers, including adoptive parents, with maternity and parental leave top-up payments as well as the option to extend their leave into an unpaid leave of absence. • The Printing House is a major advocate of responsible paper procurement, actively promoting high-recycled content paper and Ancient Friendly Forest paper products for its customers, with over 92 percent of paper purchased being environmentally certified last year • The Printing House supports a number of environmental initiatives throughout the year, including the WWF CN Tower Stair Climb for Nature and The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup (in partnership with the WWF and Ocean Wise). The company also partners with the Forest Farmer organization to ensure that one tree is planted for every new account opened at The Printing House, planting nearly 4,000 trees since 2015. • Symcor supports unique “nooks” in common areas where employees are free to drop-off used books, movies and music, allowing them to share and recycle used items as well as enjoy something new. Additionally, IT employees recently established a dedicated Tech Hub Library, which features technology related books for exchange. • Symcor supports a variety of in-house environmental initiatives, including an extensive recycling program to capture non-conventional recyclables, from flip-flops to candy wrappers to wine corks (offered in partnership with TerraCycle), to an internal elastic band and paper-clip collection and reuse program. • Through Xerox Canada’s Bwell program, employees can access a number of online tools and health and wellness resources, including information on related initiatives, such as the company’s spring fitness challenge. • Along with offering paid time off to volunteer, Xerox Canada manages the Xerox Employee Initiated Philanthropy program to provide financial assistance to non-profit organizations where employees regularly volunteer their time. “Our process for incorporating social responsibility and sustainability into our operations and decision-making is ingrained into our culture,” says Andrew O’Born, Vice President of Business Development, The Printing House. “We’ve tried to create a portfolio of things that we keep adding to in order to support our environmental initiatives. In 2019 we will be steadfast in ‘going the extra mile’ to push through barriers, and change our habits to reduce our carbon footprint and improve our environmental impacts.”
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Real Musicians Recycle: Sandy Music Stores Offer A Recycle And Restring Event

TerraCycle Include USA D'Addario
Music stores in the Sandy area celebrated Earth Day by recycling guitar strings. Two that participated were Wasatch Musician and Riverton Music. New guitar strings donated by D’Addario were put on customers’ instruments and the old strings were turned in to get recycled. “This is our third time doing this. We donate our labor, and D’Addario donates the new strings and recycles the old ones. They usually do it every Earth Month,” said Austin Fairbourn, an employee of Wasatch Musician at 640 East Union Square. The event ran from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 13. Customers were greeted by a guitar technician and there was a box for old strings. “D’Addario uses a company called TerraCycle that accepts hard-to-recycle materials. I don’t know the recycling process, but there are a lot of different alloys in the strings. This keeps stuff out of the landfill and also gets people to try out their strings,” Fairbourn said. Events like this are a win all around because customers can get new strings while supporting their local music stores. “We do repairs, sales, we have jam nights. We’re just a mom and pop place, and this event helps get people in the store so they can get to know us,” said Fairbourn. Many customers liked the idea of an employee putting strings on. Cathy Cash is a local musician who came in for the event because she wanted her guitar to get a little TLC. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I heard about it on Facebook and I’ve been in here a couple of times. I care about my guitar and I wanted to have it done right,” Cash said.
Kevin Fairbourn of Wasatch Musician talks strings with local musician Cathy Cash. Cash came in to recycle her old strings and get a free set of new ones. (Heather Lawrence/City Journals) 
 
Fairbourn said he has gotten a basic string change down to a science. “My fastest time is about three minutes. But today I’m also cleaning it and oiling the fingerboard. When you have the strings off it’s the best time to get in and clean out any dirt and finger oils,” said Fairbourn. Fairbourn also said Utah’s dry climate is harsh on guitars, and recommends making sure they get oiled regularly. Riverton Music employee Corbin Cox was in charge of restringing at their store at 9491 South 255 West. He agreed that guitars need to be cleaned and maintained. “I know this stuff. I’ve done it enough times that I’m pretty proficient. I’m a certified Taylor tech, so you’re getting a technician to look at it. There are some other things that I do like tightening the tuners,” Cox said. The event, which is officially called Play Back, has been good for the stores. “We did the event last year. This gets people to bring in their guitars so we can take a look at them. We’re not the biggest guitar dealer but we know a lot. We can help find parts, check on your instrument. We have open mic nights. We just want to help people make music,” said Cox. Cox said he felt good recommending the donated D’Addario strings to customers. “I’ve been using D’Addario strings for a long time. They’re really consistent. I’ve never had a bum string. Sometimes you’ll have a string turn black which means it’s oxidized. I’ve never had that with them,” said Cox.
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Your favorite household brands hope to bring zero waste to your doorstep

TerraCycle pepsico Nestle Unilever Include USA Procter & Gamble Loop
  • What if consumers didn't have to dispose their empty plastic containers but could return them and get them refilled?
  • That's the idea behind Loop, a subscription delivery service from waste management company TerraCycle.
  • Loop has signed up several giant consumer-goods makers to have their products delivered via the service.
  • It's a new spin on the milkman deliveries of yore, except with consumer goods from shampoos to sodas.
One year after China banned plastic waste from the U.S. and other developed countries, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Unilever and other consumer giants are collaborating with a new service that gives consumers a way to shop and achieve zero waste. It's called Loop — a subscription delivery project directed by waste management company TerraCycle that launches in May with the blessing of the World Economic Forum. It was announced in January at Davos, where TerraCycle CEO Tom Szachy pitched his idea to the world's biggest consumer companies — some of the most notorious repeat offenders on climate change. "We wondered is recycling the answer to waste? And we realized it's good at solving the symptom of garbage, but not the root cause, which is disposability," Szachy told CBS MoneyWatch. "And that got us to thinking of disposability and what could be the solution." Instead of throwing away packaging after it's been used once, Loop delivers over 300 consumer goods in reusable packaging. Shoppers can purchase Tide detergent, Dove deodorant, Coca-Cola soda or Häagen-Dazs ice cream that will be delivered to their doorsteps in tote bags. It's a new spin on the milkman deliveries of yore, except with just about any consumer good. Buyers can eat the ice cream, drink the soda, launder their clothes and then put the empty containers back into the tote bags for pickup. Loop retrieves the bags, sterilizes the containers in its warehouses and refills them before shipping them out to consumers again. Users wouldn't even have to clean the containers, like they would for recycling. "We don't want you to change your consumer behavior," Szaky said. Loop plans to roll out mid-May in Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, and London in September. Loop plans to launch in Canada, Japan, Germany and more U.S. regions in 2020.

Solving a recycling crisis

The program is launching more than one year after China's ban on accepting plastic waste in January 2018 put the whole U.S. recycling system in a tailspin. The U.S. had shipped its recyclable plastic and cardboard overseas for more than 25 years. In 2016 alone, China took 760 million tons of plastic off U.S. hands. While Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have picked up where China left off, those countries don't have waste management systems sophisticated enough to handle U.S. plastic scrap. Now, the U.S. is facing a wake-up call, having to develop new ways to manage its waste. Many cities and towns across the nation are even forgoing recycling or scaling back on programs as a response. All that has added pressure on consumer-goods giants, especially because environmentalists never saw the recycling industry as an ideal solution. While items like glass bottles can be recycled back into new glass bottles, products made with plastic are often recycled into lower quality plastic goods or they aren't accepted by waste management programs. That means recycling can barely make a dent in the sheer weight of plastic waste. "When they say, 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,' 'Recycle' is in the last place for a reason," said Michelle Stevens, owner of the Refill Shoppe in Los Angeles, California, which refills products for customers.   Nestlé spent one year developing the new stainless steel packaging for Häagen-Dazs ice cream. LOOP

The design challenge for reusability

Whether the consumer-goods companies keep participating in Loop will depend on how subscription users use the service. While the products' prices are expected to remain the same, shoppers will have to pay a deposit for the packaging that will be refunded once the package is returned. The deposit can change depending on the price of packaging. For example, Nestlé will charge $6.49 for its Häagen-Dazs ice cream, with a $5 deposit for the container. "We're assessing the willingness to pay to cover the cost," said Kim Peddle Rguem, president of the ice cream division of Nestlé USA. But Nestlé is hoping that a new stainless-steel ice cream container it has designed will give customers an experience that brings them back. The dual-canister container is supposed to keep the ice cream cold and let it melt from the top once opened, as opposed to the sides. The container itself should be warm to the touch. Rguem declined to say how much Nestlé has invested in Loop or how much it's paying TerraCycle to clean and refill the product. But she did say the company has already dedicated one year of time and resources to develop the new packaging. It will have about 20,000 containers ready to go when Loop launches. "The fact that it's available in this way, which also reduces waste, is exciting for us," Rguem said. "We know consumers are interested in this."
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This Week in Cannabis: Top Stories From Across Canada From Apr. 20-26

TerraCycle Include Canada (English) Canopy Growth
recycle   This week in Cannabis: Tweed and TerraCycle choose Earth Day to launch a new cannabis-waste recycling program, the Feds are set to approve a new saliva-testing device that detects recent drug use–but not impairment, and Shoppers Drug Mart launches a portal to buy medical cannabis in Alberta.   We’ve rounded up this week’s top stories from across Canada.  

Cannabis-Waste Recycling Program Goes National

  As outcry over cannabis overpackaging continues, Tweed and US recycling company TerraCycle chose Earth Day to announce the nationwide expansion of their Tweed x TerraCycle cannabis-packaging recycling program (first announced only weeks after legalization).   Though the program has been running in a few stores across Canada for some time, Monday’s announcement launched the service cross-country. In addition to recycling bins in cannabis retailers, the expanded Tweed x TerraCycle offers free pickup of cannabis containers—which will be especially useful both for consumers who don’t have ready access to cannabis stores, and also to those whose municipal recycling does not handle all types of plastic used to package cannabis.   Once Tweed x TerraCycle have collected between 10 and 40 tons of plastic cannabis packaging, they will melt it down into plastic pellets that can be used to make new plastic products.
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Butt Blitz aims to clean up cigarette butts off the ground

TerraCycle Include Canada (English) cigarette butt recycling
Hamiltonians are fighting back against the most littered item in the world, cigarette butts. Today, A Greener Future in collaboration with the City of Hamilton held their 5th annual Butt Blitz.   There is over 6 billion pounds of cigarette litter every single year. They may be small, but they do add up quickly and they are very toxic. Butt Blitz is a program where people pick up cigarette litter is just one of the initiatives that Rochelle Byrne, founder of A Greener Future, has organized to clean up Canada. This year, volunteers targeted the beach and the downtown core.   So we all know that there are toxins in cigarettes, and when they are smoked, that ends up in the filter, and then when the cigarette ends up in water, all those toxins can leech out and that can end up in our drinking water. The filter part is made of a plastic material that will break apart as the butts get washed away into our sewers or storm water system. The plastic will end up in the lake or in the soil but will never fully decompose.   Cigarette butts are one of the most ubiquitous forms of litter. Over 3.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered annually across the globe. One of the biggest problems is that people do not have enough cigarette waste reciprocals, convenient enough for them to put their cigarettes out. So if you cannot find one, you can always purchase a disposable one. It has got a metal inside for you to put your cigarette out, store it, and eventually send it to a company like TerraCycle.   TerraCycle is a global company that offers recycling solutions for almost every form of waste. They turn cigarette butts into industrial skids.   Rochelle Byrne is tallying the numbers, she says that Hamilton, today alone, in just two hours, collected well over 35,000 cigarette butts. The effort of roughly 35 volunteers.
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Hamilton’s one-day ‘Butt Blitz’ takes 37,000 cigarette remains off city streets

TerraCycle Include Canada (English) Cigarette Butt Recycling Program
The city of Hamilton's one-day 'Butt Blitz' saw some 37,000 cigarette ends collected in the downtown area.     A three-hour single-day clean up event has rid Hamilton of tens of thousands of cigarette butts in the city’s downtown core.   Saturday’s ‘Butt Blitz’ was an affair tied to a prevention program launched this past week, aimed at reducing cigarette litter across the city.   Individual volunteers armed with supply bags and gloves spread out around the city’s lower end to pick up butts in that neighbourhood.   Upon completion of the event, the city claimed volunteers had picked up 37,052 cigarette butts.   A month-long campaign to take cigarette garbage off Ontario streets was launched at the beginning of April with environmental preservation volunteer group A Greener Future behind the initiative.   To date, the group claims to have picked up 772,368 cigarette butts off streets in six provinces across Canada since starting the program in 2015.   Cigarette filters are made from a non-biodegradable plastic and are considered pollution. A Greener Future says the butts are toxic and pose a threat to domestic animals and wildlife, like dogs and fish who can mistake the ends as food.   Cigarette butts picked up by volunteers in Hamilton on Saturday will be sent to TerraCycle Canada for recycling. The plastics inside the waste can be separated by composition and melted into hard plastic that can make new recycled industrial products, such as plastic pallets.     The City of Hamilton along with 5 other local agencies are hoping to educate the public on the negative environmental effects discarded cigarette butts have on the environment. agreenerfuture.ca  
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Hamilton's one-day 'Butt Blitz' takes 37,000 cigarette remains off city streets

TerraCycle Include Canada (English) cigarette butt recycling
Hamilton's one-day 'Butt Blitz' takes 37,000 cigarette remains off city streets A three-hour single-day clean up event has rid Hamilton of tens of thousands of cigarette butts in the city’s downtown core. Saturday’s ‘Butt Blitz’ was an affair tied to a prevention program launched this past week, aimed at reducing cigarette litter across the city.
Individual volunteers armed with supply bags and gloves spread out around the city’s lower end to pick up butts in that neighbourhood. Upon completion of the event, the city claimed volunteers had picked up 37,052 cigarette butts. READ MORE: City of Hamilton launches battle against cigarette butts
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City of Hamilton
✔@cityofhamilton

A disgusting total of 37,052 cigarette butts were collected by some amazing volunteers across the lower city today - thank you for your time today, and a reminder to everyone that the earth is not an ashtray!

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A month-long campaign to take cigarette garbage off Ontario streets was launched at the beginning of April with environmental preservation volunteer group A Greener Future behind the initiative. To date, the group claims to have picked up 772,368 cigarette butts off streets in six provinces across Canada since starting the program in 2015. WATCH: Toronto fire launches campaign to stop tossing cigarette butts off balconies (October 2018)
Cigarette filters are made from a non-biodegradable plastic and are considered pollution. A Greener Future says the butts are toxic and pose a threat to domestic animals and wildlife, like dogs and fish who can mistake the ends as food. Cigarette butts picked up by volunteers in Hamilton on Saturday will be sent to TerraCycle Canada for recycling. The plastics inside the waste can be separated by composition and melted into hard plastic that can make new recycled industrial products, such as plastic pallets.    
The City of Hamilton along with 5 other local agencies are hoping to educate the public on the negative environmental effects discarded cigarette butts have on the environment.
The City of Hamilton along with 5 other local agencies are hoping to educate the public on the negative environmental effects discarded cigarette butts have on the environment.
 
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Brittney Levine shares sustainable style, beauty products

TerraCycle Garnier Include USA
 
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Windy City Live celebrated "Earth Day" this week, and if you want to keep your beauty and fashion choices in line with sustainability, we've got some great choices for you. Style expert Brittney Levine stops by WCL with products just for you. Visit Brittney's website: www.brittneyhlevine.com
BEAUTY: 1) OVERALL BODY: BareOrganics Superfoods: BareOrganics Spirulina Powder $19.99 (8 oz.) Available nationwide at GNC stores -Superfoods deliver essential fuel for your body with unique micro and macronutrients to keep you feeling your absolute best! -Raw, organic foods like BareOrganics makes it easier for the body to recognize and utilize key nutrients. -BareOrganics Spirulina Powder is a nutrient-rich, blue-green algae and a rich source of iron. -Contains other essential nutrients such as magnesium and protein -Best part - it actually tastes great! -Raw, organic, vegan and gluten free. -Using this powder in your everyday diet will increase your energy and overall vitality. -So easy to use, just add 1 scoop to your favorite green smoothie or you can add it to any favorite recipes! -BareOrganics Spirulina Powder is also super sustainable-providing you with what is good for your body and the planet! -Each jar is 100% recyclable, BPA-Free and reusable with an easy-peel label -Microwave and top shelf dishwasher safe 2) PROTECT YOUR TEETH: Hello Oral Care Hello Naturally Whitening Fluoride Toothpaste $4.99 Available at Target / www.hello-products.com -The sustainable, healthy way of getting your smile shine! -Hello Oral Care is free of dyes, artificial sweeteners/flavors, parabens, microbeads, and gluten. -They're also vegan, cruelty-free and thoughtfully created by using a calcium mineral blend that whitens and protects your teeth. -Both products feature farm grown peppermint, tea tree oil to tame bad breath, and moisturizing coconut oil
-Not only do they take care of your pearly whites, but they make sure to take care of the environment by using 100% recycled paper printed with soy-based ink. -The antiplaque + Whitening Toothpaste helps brush away stubborn plaque and naturally whitens with friendly minerals 3) HAIR: Garnier Fructis PURE CLEAN Shampoo & Conditioner: Garnier Fructis PURE CLEAN Shampoo & Conditioner $4.49 Available nationwide at drugstores / www.garnierusa.com -Make sure you're choosing the healthiest option for your hair and the environment! -Garnier Fructis knows how to keep your hair as healthy as possible, especially with their new secret ingredient: -Garnier's PURE CLEAN 94% biodegradable, vegan formula has been reformulated with Aloe Extract, a multi-beneficial ingredient that contains Vitamin B3, C, and E to refresh and replenish hair. -When it comes to keeping the planet healthy: -The Pure Clean line bottles are produced in a facility committed to sustainability; they are made of recyclable PET plastic with 50% Post-consumer recycled waste and can be recycled. -**In 2011, Garnier launched the world's first ever beauty Recycling Program in partnership with TerraCycle, which has helped to divert over 11.7 million beauty and personal care empties from landfills -The recycled products are then used to build parks, playgrounds and gardens around the country 4) FACE: DRUNK ELEPHANT Drunk Elephant Cleanser & Cream $32 - $68 www.drunkelephant.com -My major obsession, one of the hottest brands at Sephora and loved by Hollywood elite- Drunk Elephant is Clean Compatible skincare. -They use only biocompatible ingredients that either directly benefit the skin's health or support the integrity and effectiveness of the formulas. -Avoid any controversial toxins and all of their products are free of the "Suspicious Six:" -Drying Alcohols, Silicones, Chemical Screens, Fragrances / Dyes, Essential Oils & harsh detergents. -By steering clear of these ingredients, your skin resets to healthiest, happiest state -Perfect way to try Drunk Elephant and give your skin a clean break - Award-winning Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser and Protini Polypeptide Cream: -Beste No. 9 is a jelly cleanser that is totally non-irritating, non-sensitizing and appropriate for every skin type.
-Protini is a protein moisturizer that will give you visible and immediate improvement in skin tone, texture and firmness. FASHION: 5) CONSCIOUS APPAREL: VIBRATE HIGHER Vibrate Higher Apparel Under $40 www.vibratehigher.com -Vibrate Higher is a conscious apparel, wellness brand, & non-profit foundation that is not only eco-conscious in all aspects of production, but gives a solar light to a family without electricity in Haiti with every product purchase on VibrateHigher.com! -Vibrate Higher ethically creates each product with the intent to reduce overproduction, using eco-fabrics, water-based ink, & limits the use of plastic & non-biodegradable materials in their products. -Vibrate Higher's fashionable mantra tees ("One of a Kind,") tanks, & accessories are perfect for the active lifestyle, taking you from the studio to the street to dinner with friends. 6) APPAREL: thredUP thredUP From $18 - $86 www.thredUP.com -thredUP is an amazing and sustainable brand whose main goal is to ensure that as many items as possible stay out of landfill! -thredUp.com is the world's largest fashion resale site where you can buy and sell EVERY brand (more than 35,000 brands!) from Gap to Gucci -Shopping secondhand and reusing clothing is one of the best things we can do for the planet (and your wallet!) -Everything is in incredible condition and triple checked for like-new quality. How it works: 1. Shop endless like-new arrivals from your favorite brands at thredUP.com -- they carry 35K+ brands and add 1K items to the site every single hour! 2. When you're ready for a closet refresh, order a Clean Out bag or print a pre-paid shipping label on thredUP.com to clean out and send in ANY women's and children's clothing in your closet. 3. thredUP triple-checks for quality, and they pay for re-sellable items & recycle the rest. Receive up-front payout or wait till the item(s) sell. 4. Use your pay out to shop like-new styles on thredUP from your favorite brands at up to 90% off retail to refresh your wardrobe in an affordable, sustainable way. -They list over 1,000 like-new arrivals every hour, so it's like a new store every time you visit the website! -There is so much variety to choose from, so shoppers get the closet-flipping fun of fast fashion, without the eco and financial waste.
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