Mercer Elementary School of Hamilton won Entenmann's® Little Bites® “Small Bites, Big Collections” recycling contest by collecting a total of 5,874 empty Little Bites pouches. With help from recycling pioneer TerraCycle®, the accumulated waste will be cleaned, processed, and reshaped by for use in new plastic products.   As the winner, Mercer Elementary School will receive 50,000 TerraCycle points, school supplies, four custom collection boxes, and 50 boxes of Little Bites for their efforts. TerraCycle points are redeemable in the form of a cash donation to a non-profit of the winner’s choice.   The Entenmann's® Little Bites® “Small Bites, Big Collections” contest launched September 1 and ran until December 31 nationwide for schools, clubs and community groups participating in the Entenmann’s Little Bites Recycling Program, a free recycling program operated by Entenmann's Little Bites and TerraCycle.   “The sustainability of our future and environment is so important for the children of generations to come,” said Kim Bremer, Director of Marketing for Entenmann’s Little Bites. “Entenmann’s Little Bites feels honored and proud to stand next to TerraCycle in such an important global issue.”   Mercer Elementary School and other collectors participating in the Entenmann's® Little Bites® Pouch Recycling Program have diverted a considerable amount of plastic waste from landfills. To date, the program has recycled 4,217,634 pouches and donated over $68,000 to schools and charities. The program is open to any individual, school or organization interested in reducing local landfill waste. To learn more about the Entenmann’s Little Bites Pouch Recycling Program, please visit www.terracycle.com.   The full set of rules for the 2018 Entenmann's® Little Bites® “Small Bites, Big Collections” can be viewed at: https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/contests/small-bites-big-collections.

Canada's legal cannabis industry is starting to come to grips with its waste problem: an avalanche of pot packaging that's good at meeting regulatory demands, but tricky to recycle. Federal cannabis regulations don't directly tell producers what materials to use in their packaging, but they do require marijuana containers be opaque or semitransparent, guard against contamination, keep cannabis bud dry, and keep children out. Those requirements make it hard to use biodegradable packaging options, according to Dan Sutton, chief executive officer of Tantalus Labs.

  "The first step is certainly nationwide recycling programs, which will make the waste cycle similar to beverage products we consume every day," he wrote by email. Cannabis industry colossus Canopy Growth Corp. is underwriting such a container recycling program through its Tweed retail brand. The program is administered by New Jersey-based company TerraCycle, and accepts containers collected by any licensed cannabis retailer in Canada, whether or not they're affiliated with Canopy Growth. Individual consumers can also mail used weed vessels directly to TerraCycle for recycling. Canada's cannabis containers tend to use what TerraCycle's director of brand partnerships, Gina Herrera, described as "complex plastics," which are harder to process than the polyethylene terephtalate and high-density polyethelene often used in consumer goods packaging. TerraCycle and its subcontractors will take those containers, clean them, and melt them down into plastic pellets, which can then be manufactured into new products. (Herrera gave the examples of picnic tables or park benches, which would usually be made of "virgin" plastic. TerraCycle can also process other materials used in Canadian cannabis packaging, such as metal and foil, she said.) "Essentially anything that comes in through TerraCycle, through the program, is always recycled and never landfilled," said Herrera. Although TerraCycle has started collecting cannabis containers at an Ontario facility, Herrera said the actual recycling process has yet to kick off. First, it will need to accumulate enough material to make the process economically feasible — between 10 and 40 tons of weed packaging, according to Herrera. High Tide Inc., which operates 10 Canna Cabana stores in Alberta, has signed up for TerraCycle's program and installed recycling bins in its stores. Spokesman Jason Kostiw said the company took interest in recycling containers after hearing "lots from customers about the sheer amount of packaging."  

  "So far, our stores have sent back 18 shipments to TerraCycle, which equals approximately 162 kilograms of recycled product," said Kostiw. "It's been a hugely successful campaign so far." Some of Canna Cabana's Alberta locations are still waiting for their provincial licence to sell cannabis, which have been placed on hold due to product shortages in that province. In the meantime, those stores are only selling cannabis accessories, such as vaporizers and pipes. "We're actually really surprised that even our accessory stores that don't sell cannabis, people will just go out of their way to return (empty packaging) to the store," he said. A smaller Alberta retailer-in-waiting has launched its own homegrown recycling program for cannabis containers. Lake City Cannabis in Chestermere, Alta., is also selling accessories while it awaits its provincial sales licence, and is offering a 10 per cent discount on accessories for shoppers who bring in used containers for recycling. Owner Ryan Roch likens his discounts-for-recycling campaign to the incentivizing deposit from returning a beer bottle, and said it's already drawing interest from customers. Roch plans to take the containers to the local recycling depot on his own, although he's not yet sure whether they'll accept them.

Canada's legal cannabis industry is starting to come to grips with its waste problem: an avalanche of pot packaging that's good at meeting regulatory demands, but tricky to recycle. Federal cannabis regulations don't directly tell producers what materials to use in their packaging, but they do require marijuana containers be opaque or semitransparent, guard against contamination, keep cannabis bud dry, and keep children out. Those requirements make it hard to use biodegradable packaging options, according to Dan Sutton, chief executive officer of Tantalus Labs.

  "The first step is certainly nationwide recycling programs, which will make the waste cycle similar to beverage products we consume every day," he wrote by email. Cannabis industry colossus Canopy Growth Corp. is underwriting such a container recycling program through its Tweed retail brand. The program is administered by New Jersey-based company TerraCycle, and accepts containers collected by any licensed cannabis retailer in Canada, whether or not they're affiliated with Canopy Growth. Individual consumers can also mail used weed vessels directly to TerraCycle for recycling. Canada's cannabis containers tend to use what TerraCycle's director of brand partnerships, Gina Herrera, described as "complex plastics," which are harder to process than the polyethylene terephtalate and high-density polyethelene often used in consumer goods packaging. TerraCycle and its subcontractors will take those containers, clean them, and melt them down into plastic pellets, which can then be manufactured into new products. (Herrera gave the examples of picnic tables or park benches, which would usually be made of "virgin" plastic. TerraCycle can also process other materials used in Canadian cannabis packaging, such as metal and foil, she said.) "Essentially anything that comes in through TerraCycle, through the program, is always recycled and never landfilled," said Herrera. Although TerraCycle has started collecting cannabis containers at an Ontario facility, Herrera said the actual recycling process has yet to kick off. First, it will need to accumulate enough material to make the process economically feasible — between 10 and 40 tons of weed packaging, according to Herrera. High Tide Inc., which operates 10 Canna Cabana stores in Alberta, has signed up for TerraCycle's program and installed recycling bins in its stores. Spokesman Jason Kostiw said the company took interest in recycling containers after hearing "lots from customers about the sheer amount of packaging."  

  "So far, our stores have sent back 18 shipments to TerraCycle, which equals approximately 162 kilograms of recycled product," said Kostiw. "It's been a hugely successful campaign so far." Some of Canna Cabana's Alberta locations are still waiting for their provincial licence to sell cannabis, which have been placed on hold due to product shortages in that province. In the meantime, those stores are only selling cannabis accessories, such as vaporizers and pipes. "We're actually really surprised that even our accessory stores that don't sell cannabis, people will just go out of their way to return (empty packaging) to the store," he said. A smaller Alberta retailer-in-waiting has launched its own homegrown recycling program for cannabis containers. Lake City Cannabis in Chestermere, Alta., is also selling accessories while it awaits its provincial sales licence, and is offering a 10 per cent discount on accessories for shoppers who bring in used containers for recycling. Owner Ryan Roch likens his discounts-for-recycling campaign to the incentivizing deposit from returning a beer bottle, and said it's already drawing interest from customers. Roch plans to take the containers to the local recycling depot on his own, although he's not yet sure whether they'll accept them.

P&G brand and TerraCycle create limited edition recyclable bottles made of 25% beach plastic.

Sustainable Cosmetics Summit will return to NYC for 10th year

14-Mar-2019 By Deanna Utroske The green beauty conference event hosted by ecovia Intelligence is set to take place in New York City again this May and will feature an array of expert speakers from innovative brands like Pinch of Colour, material recycling ventures like TerraCycle, natural ingredient suppliers like Down Under Enterprises, and more.

A Gillette fez uma parceria com a TerraCycle para anunciar que todas as marcas de aparelhos de barbear descartáveis, unidades de cartucho de lâmina substituível e embalagens plásticas de lâmina são recicláveis,  uma medida que os parceiros estão anunciando como uma novidade para os Estados Unidos.

Loop's co-founder explains how the sustainable packaging platform works with brands like P&G, Unilever and more to enable ecologically sound consumption patterns with durable containers designed for refill and reuse   In today’s climate that favors “out with the old and in with the new,” the world has become used to the convenience of disposability—and at huge cost to the environment. However, consumers and retailers alike are more aware than ever of the consequences of throwaway culture, and the opportunity is ripe for new ways of buying and using goods.   Enter Loop, a circular shopping platform that transforms the packaging of everyday essentials from single-use disposable to durable and refillable designs, curbing waste while also offering the same products consumers already buy in premium-quality containers. PSFK spoke to Loop’s co-founder Tom Szaky, also CEO and co-founder of recycling company TerraCycle, to learn about the platform’s imminent launch, and how it functions to help consumers truly own their product while placing the ownership of the packaging in the hands of the producer. Ultimately, Szaky emphasizes that recycling needs to be as convenient as disposing to sustain mainstream adoption—something Loop is striving to achieve.   PSFK: Could you describe the work that you do at Loop? Tom: I run and founded TerraCycle, now 16 years ago. TerraCycle’s mission is to eliminate the idea of waste. We don’t want to see ourselves as a waste management company, but more of a waste elimination organization.   We have a number of divisions to accomplish that. What we have been doing the longest and are effectively the most known for is turning things that have been considered not recyclable into nationally recyclable items, everything from dirty diaper recycling, which we’ve just launched with Pampers in Holland, to chewing gum recycling, which we do with Cadbury in Mexico, and hundreds of other waste streams.   Our second division is about making products from recycled materials. We take ocean plastic and turn it into Head & Shoulders bottles or Dawn dish soap bottles, for example. At the World Economic Forum in Davos about a month ago, we launched Loop, which is our third business unit. It’s entirely focused on how we solve waste at the root cause, which comes down to rethinking disposable items.   Could you elaborate on how Loop works? Loop is really an engine for brands and retailers. For brands, Loop enables them to develop durable versions of their products, like making Tropicana bottles in extremely durable glass instead of cartons.   There’s an ecosystem of products that most of the world’s biggest producers are involved in, from Unilever to P&G and many others, so that consumers can access the materials.   As a consumer, you would be able to go into your favorite store, see your favorite products, but instead of in disposable packaging, it’s in this beautiful, premium, reusable package. And instead of having to clean it yourself, to wash it out and refill it, we do that for customers. At Loop, we enable the benefits of disposability without the negatives. How did you approach designing a process that would fit into consumers’ lives and integrate recycling into them seamlessly? The first question we asked when we came up with the idea for Loop was, “Why does garbage exist?” We landed on, “Well, disposability.” But you can’t just vilify disposability. We wanted to think about, “Why are people, even today, just absolutely in love with the concept of disposability?”   The answer is that it brings unparalleled convenience and affordability. To solve the problem, we have to look at the positives, at what the value of it is for consumers, as problematic as it is. The thesis for Loop was, “How do we solve for the negatives of disposability while maintaining its positives?”   We realized it came down to ownership. One of the strange things about the products we buy, anything from our coffee cup to our shampoo, is that we really want the content, but we end up owning the package at the end. I’d argue, none of us really wants to own the package. If the manufacturer could own the package forever, they would be motivated to make it long lasting and durable. Suddenly, everything clicks.   How did you approach shifting that ownership from consumers to the retailers? It started with the producers of the products. It begins with the visible part, the package design, and making it into something durable. There are two ways to make something physically durable: One is to make it out of strong materials, but the other is to allow it to age. Actually allowing something to age dramatically increases the total number of times it can go around, which is a different concept in a world where everything is always brand spanking new.   Then, it needs to be cleanable, strong enough to endure being cleaned many times, and needs to be refillable. Those elements are the first major hurdle.   The second is integrating it for retailers. The key learning here is that retailers are very limited on resources these days, so they can’t do a lot of development. The want to enable a packaging-free aisle, if you will, a popular idea right now. At Loop, the goal is to enable this while forcing them to change as little as possible in their ecosystem.   The benefit of working with existing brands and existing retailers is they don’t have to convince consumers to buy their products—they’re already being sold effectively at a location where consumers already shop. The difference is just offering the option to have it in disposable and durable packaging.   The last piece is sustainability.We very quickly learned that durability brings about not just reuse, but also an amazing increase in luxury—in design based on the materials required. What happens is, then we can appeal not just to those concerned about the environment, but also to those who just want a better-looking product.   Did retailers and the partners you work with understand the benefit right away? Did Loop have to convince them?  Our very first partner was Procter & Gamble. We’ve been working with them through TerraCycle for many years. It did take a phenomenal amount of discussion, convincing and meetings because it’s a risk, on their time as well as money.   The second one was NestlÈ, and then Pepsi, Mars and Unilever, and things became progressively easier. Once those were established, it was a whirlwind. Almost every week a new partner is joining. You mentioned the side benefit of durable packaging is that it can create a better overall product experience. Could you expand on this? Did this appeal to retailers? With Loop, one of the things we focus on is helping retailers make distinguished packaging. The benefit to them is that it’s still the same product from the same brand, but with upgraded packaging.   How have consumers reacted to the concept? The response has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s phenomenal how many people have signed up for it. One of the things consumers are hoping for is that Loop scales quickly. We’re going to be starting in Paris, then New York, then London and Toronto, but they’d like to see it in more and more places. They also want a range of goods.   It’s good that we were able to start with the really big retailers, but based on consumer feedback we’re also going after some of the smaller startups to enable a diversity of products. Consumers understand that there’s a garbage problem. While some prioritize the environmental aspect, others really like the design aspect, and some really like the convenience aspect. When you put all that together, it’s a pretty big ecosystem of benefits. It doesn’t really matter which side of that consumers are on, as long as they get on board.   Could you explain the timing of your launch? The world is really strong right now for a system like this. People have woken up to the problem of garbage, as have retailers. They have made big commitments, big pledges, big promises. The companies that have to take part are ready to go, and that wasn’t the case two, three years ago.   How have consumer expectations for at-home delivery and online shopping influenced your work? It absolutely helps. A lot of what Loop relies on is existing supply chains, and by having a lot of ecommerce drivers already in place, we’re not putting more trucks on the road. Consumer comfortability with ecommerce supports us. Overall what is important to us is that customers feel that Loop is as convenient if not more convenient than the way they already consume. What can we expect for your launch this spring? May is when New York and Paris go live. We’ll be announcing the U.S. retailers at that time. There’ll be even more products than what’s already available. Every day more and more companies join and leverage more products. What’s also great is that they’re pushing each other, competing to foster innovation.   Could you speak about the future avenues for product reuse that Loop has the potential to open as it changes consumer behavior toward recycling? Establishing relationships with consumers related to reuse unlocks huge layers of opportunity. For example, if you go into a normal retailer like Amazon.com, you can see your order history. That’s pretty straightforward, and you’ll be able to see your order history in Loop as well, but you’ll get one more thing. Because we know what you bought and also when you returned it, we know what’s in your house. By definition, that’s everything that you bought but haven’t returned yet.   That is really interesting for the consumer because imagine if suddenly you have someone in your family that is allergic to peanuts. You can suddenly click one button and it would say, “Here is everything in your home that has peanuts in it.” Instead of having to go on the back of every product and figure it out yourself, can you imagine if with one click it would just highlight for you everything that’s a problem? Then with a second click, you could send that all in and substitute it for the non-peanut versions of the same type of product. There’s a lot of potential there.   Another is a feature that’s enabled right at the beginning: Shoppers can set their account so that their empty product triggers a reorder. They shop with their used product, which means they never get the wrong amount. If you think about it, what are the challenges with subscription models? Consumers love them, but one of the big complaints is it’s a box every month, and what if they go on vacation? What if they stop using that product? If they set it by having their used items trigger their reorders, then it’s by definition perfectly timed.   Another example of something we’re developing now is diagnostics. Imagine, since we know it’s your used motor oil container when you send back your used oil in your oil container, we could diagnose it for you by measuring the engine scrapings that are left diluted in your oil. That could then tell you what the health of the inside of your car are. Imagine cat litter. If we take the used cat litter, we could diagnose it and tell you about the health of your cat. What about a used dirty diaper and the health of your child?   There is a lot uncharted territory in knowing that a used product came from a certain consumer. Those are just a few examples of where that relationship could go in the future.   Tom Szaky. Loop Loop is combining consumer insight with innovation to enable a better way to consume. For more from similar inspiring companies, see PSFK’s reports and newsletters.   

All brands of disposable razors, replaceable-blade cartridge units and razor plastic packaging are now recyclable on a national scale. Source: https://www.environmentguru.com/pages/elements/element.aspx?id=10172748 © EnvironmentGuru.com

In a move to reduce waste and reward participating bicycle riders, Shimano today launched the first-ever cycling shoe recycling program in Canada through a collaboration with international recycling leader, TerraCycle®. The global bicycle component and footwear leader will partner with 70 participating bicycle retailers across the country who will utilize TerraCycle® Zero Waste Boxes™ to collect used shoes from any brand and reward recyclers with an incentive on new Shimano footwear. The program aims to collect thousands of pairs of shoes through its conclusion on April 20, 2019 and equip participating riders with new shoes in time for Earth Day on April 22.     This initiative is in line with Shimano’s corporate mission: To promote health and happiness through the enjoyment of nature and the world around us. “While we bring to market cycling shoes across Canada, we need do our part in protecting nature and recycling plays a key part. With this program we’re ensuring that Shimano is also taking products back in the most ecologically way possible,” said Tim Hadfield, General Manager of Shimano Canada. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with TerraCycle® and with our retail partners spanning the entire country to accept shoes even from our competitors as a way of being able to make a difference.”       Consumers can participate in this program immediately. On April 21, 2019, all 70 participating bicycle retailers across Canada will be returning the TerraCycle® Zero Waste Boxes™ to TerraCycle®. At that time, TerraCycle® will break down the shoes into reusable raw materials out of the key shoe components: carbon fibre, rubber or nylon outsoles, uppers and buckles.