Ten environmentally conscious schools across the country will each earn $25,000 worth of new technology from Staples Canada as part of the retailer’s Superpower your School Contest. Schools are invited to enter the contest at Staples.ca/PowerEco and share their eco initiatives for a chance to win. The Superpower your School Contest starts December 1, 2016 and runs until January 31, 2017.
“From growing their own food to banning plastic water bottles and even making their own organic lip balm, students and teachers across the country are innovating to make a difference on our environment,” said Mary Sagat, president of Staples Canada. “We call these students and teachers ‘ecovators’ and what better way to reward them than with access to the latest tech to enhance their education programs.”
The contest, previously known as the Staples Canada Recycle for Education Computer Lab Contest, is now in its seventh year and has awarded 70 environmentally conscious schools the latest technology to empower students to learn and nurture their passion for the environment.
The contest is held in collaboration with Earth Day Canada, a national charity that works directly with thousands of schools to provide environmental resources and support. “We’re thrilled to be working again with Staples Canada to inspire innovative approaches to stewardship and reward the creative initiatives taking place in schools across Canada,” said Deb Doncaster, president of Earth Day Canada. “We’re eager to help ensure the contest reaches as many schools as possible, and provide support throughout the judging process.”
Staples Helps Schools Make a Difference
Staples is committed to helping schools make a difference by offering several easy recycling programs:
· Canada School Recycling Program: Every year 300 million ink cartridges end up in North American landfills. Staples Canada encourages schools across the country to participate in this program by signing up to receive a free ink cartridge collection bin. For details and to register for a free ink bin visit www.canadaschoolrecycling.ca
batteries to reduce the amount of electronic waste in landfills. Drop off the batteries collected at any Staples store.
· Writing Instruments: Staples stores nationwide have partnered with TerraCycle® to collect and recycle used writing instruments. Schools are encouraged to bring in used writing instruments to any Staples store and help provide a second life to these writing instruments by turning them into upcycled and recycled products such as park benches, waste bins and more.
Did you know that Wellness was the first pet food company to partner with TerraCycle® in the U.S.? This program encourages pet parents, schools and organizations to mail their empty Wellness pet food packaging free of charge and earn gifts or cash for their favorite non-profit or school! Good nutrition for the pets we love while being kind to environment…what could be better?
Recycling in partnership with Wellness® Natural Pet Food
TerraCycle® and Wellness® have partnered to create a free recycling program for Wellness® flexible plastic pet food packaging, as well as a fundraising opportunity for participants.
What you can recycle:
We currently are able to accept dry food packaging from the following Wellness dog and cat recipe lines:
1. Wellness® Complete Health™ and Wellness® Complete Health™ Grain Free dry food packaging,
2. Wellness® CORE dry food packaging,
3. Wellness® TruFood® Baked Blends dry food packaging.
About the Wellness Recycle Program:
At Wellness, we are dedicated to long-term sustainability by embracing and supporting recycling efforts. We have partnered with upcycle and recycle leader TerraCycle® to help eliminate waste and give you the opportunity to donate to your favorite school or nonprofit organization.
Organizations, schools or individuals can sign up for the Wellness Recycling Program through the TerraCycle® website.
The personal and beauty care industry is one of the most resilient market segments in terms of growth and overall stability. Faring well and even showing growth in periods of economic decline, cosmetics and consumer staples (shampoo, body wash, hair care, etc.) are what some investors call recession resistant industries; from 2009 to 2010, the overall hair care market grew 2.3%,with shipments of hair care products reaching $1.9 billion.
Fast forward five years. Beauty care generated $56.2 billion in the US last year; hair care is currently the largest segment, skin care a close second. If periods of recession and tighter spending have a uniquely positive effect on personal care and beauty sales, in today’s climate of incomes rising per capita, business is now booming. And in this highly competitive marketplace, adding value and differentiating offerings is a real challenge.
As with most industries today, one of the category’s fastest growing influences on consumer purchasing behavior are claims for sustainability. Sustainable sourcing of raw materials in cosmetics is gaining popularity, and many cosmetics manufacturers have launched “take-back” recycling initiatives, engaging customers with a solution for its difficult-to-recycle products and packaging. The trend we are seeing is clear: recyclability and perceived sustainability are en vogue.
Recycling is one of the most easily understood and accessible aspects of sustainability to the average consumer, and a majority of personal care and beauty packaging, though all technically recyclable, is considered “difficult-to-recycle” because it is not profitable in the current infrastructure. Cosmetics are often packaged in containers that are hard to clean, and the packaging is often comprised of mixed materials (e.g. a pump-action bottle made with different plastic resins and a metal spring).
With high collection, separation, and processing costs, cheap, linear disposal methods like landfilling and incineration are typically considered the most economically viable options. Even so, consumer demand for greater responsibility and more circular waste solutions is resonating across industries, cosmetics included.
One example of a company that is offering a regenerative solution for “difficult-to-recycle” personal care and beauty packaging is Garnier. In partnership with my company TerraCycle, Garnier’s Personal Care and Beauty Recycling Programis a free consumer program that accepts everything from shampoo and conditioner bottles, eye cream tubs and hair spray pumps for recycling. To enhance impact, the program itself is brand agnostic: all personal care and beauty waste is accepted for recycling, regardless of brand.
The demand for recycling options for cosmetic and beauty care products is recognized around the globe. Back in May, L’Oreal launched the
VICHY Recycling Program with TerraCycle in Austria to recycle all VICHY products. In collaboration with participating pharmacies all over the country, customers can bring in their empty VICHY items to get loyalty points stamped in a “recycling passport” and receive a free gift after six are collected.
TerraCycle also recently launched the
Beauty Products Recycling Program with L’Oreal in Australia, where
21.1 million tons of waste end up in landfills each year; consumers are empowered by the ability to easily (and at no cost to them) send their discarded beauty products for recycling, and can even earn points redeemable for a charitable donation or upcycled products.
We know that consumers are more likely to patronize companies committed to making positive social and environmental impacts, so it’s no wonder that we are seeing an influx of marketing and advertising campaigns using sustainability as a platform to enhance their CSR strategies, reduce their environmental impact, and build trust with consumers.
But because sustainability and recycling are more salient topics in the highly discerning consumer products market today, adding the sort of value that distinguishes a product from competitors requires transparency and authentic environmental benefit. Consumers vote for products with their wallets, and when companies provide the resources necessary to make solutions possible, consumers have the influence to reward them.
Uma das vencedoras nesse segmento foi a TerraCycle, empresa americana que está no Brasil desde 2009 e que tenta eliminar o lixo. O projeto premiado foi um programa de coleta de produtos que não costumam ser reciclados, como esponjas de cozinha, escovas de dente e lápis.
A orillas del Río Delaware, en Trenton (New Jersey), una oficina predica con el ejemplo: las botellas de plástico hacen la función de paredes, los discos de vinilo separan los despachos y lo que en su día fueron puertas, hoy sirven como lustrosos escritorios.
POR VÍCTOR
Se trata de la sede central de TerraCycle, el cúlmen del ecocapitalismo, una empresa que ha extendido sus tentáculos a todo el mundo fabricando y comercializando productos elaborados a partir de desechos. Al frente está su ideólogo, Tom Szaky, húngaro de nacimiento y canadiense de adopción, adonde llegó en 1987 tras el desastre de Chernóbil.
La inspiración le llegó en un viaje con amigos. Entre cervezas y risas descubrió cómo las heces de las lombrices rojas se convertían en fertilizante para plantas de interior. La posibilidad de dar utilidad a los desechos le entusiasmó tanto que abandonó la Universidad, pidió dinero a familiares y amigos e invirtió sus ahorros en montar la empresa. Las cadenas The Home Depot y Walmart fueron las primeras en vender sus productos, elaborados con guantes de plástico, tubos de desodorante, cápsulas de café, tetinas… A día de hoy ya han reciclado 3.250 millones de objetos y, lo que es mejor, han donado 15,6 millones de dólares para causas benéficas.
AL DETALLE
Una meca para los grafiteros
TerraCycle anima a los artistas urbanos a que pinten los muros de sus oficinas en Monterrey, Toronto, São Paulo, Berlín, Londres y Sidney. La sede de Trenton cambia por dentro y por fuera cada dos semanas.
También es cosa de niños
La firma lanzó Trash Tycoon, el primer juego on-line centrado en la reutilización de materiales difíciles de reciclar. Además, ha creado parques infantiles a partir de chanclas.
Por todos los medios
Para promulgar su mensaje, Tom Szaky ha participado en una serie de cuatro capítulos de National Geographic. Incluso tuvo un programa en la desaparecida cadena televisiva Pivot.
Em 2012 a Faber-Castell estabeleceu uma parceria com a TerraCycle e lançou um programa de coleta que permite a transformação de instrumentos de escrita em matéria prima reciclada que substitui o material virgem que seria utilizado e evita o descarte de resíduos no meio ambiente.
Remember in school when you learned about the three “R’s?
You know…reduce, reuse, recycle? (In case you forgot!)
Our kids are learning all about this too, but it’s changed. Recycling isn’t just putting your cans and bottles in the blue bin. Nope, you can recycle things now that we never dreamed of recycling when we were little, like bread bags and soft plastics.
But there are still things we can’t recycle. Things like pizza boxes, Styrofoam (sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t), juice boxes, milk boxes, coffee pods, batteries, art supplies, baby food pouches…you get my drift.
So many of our every day products still end up in the trash, the landfill.
And we used to want to be recycling heroes when we were younger! Remember? We all wanted to be a part of a big change. Why not now?
I FOUND A WAY.
There is a company called Terracycle. They are kick-ass revolutionaries who are making a difference in a big way.
I discovered them because my husband and I were given a coffee pod system. We LOVE coffee and my my husband really loves espresso. As much as I would love to have a proper espresso machine in my kitchen, the counter space just isn’t there. So this was a very thoughtful gift, and we love it. The only thing? The pods it uses are not recyclable AND they don’t sell a reusable pod (trust me, I looked).
Hmmm. I’m not going to lie, this did deter me from using it for a while, so I kept making pots of coffee because I felt bad throwing out pods EVERY SINGLE DAY. I mean, seriously. I was honestly surprised in this day and age, that a company would make a product that creates so much garbage AND that we couldn’t recycle it! For real, I was shocked.
AND THEN I FOUND TERRACYCLE ZERO WASTE BOXES.
They sent me a box where I happily chuck my used coffee pods and once the box is full, I mail it back to the company where they recycle all the parts. I feel amazing, and I don’t have to do any of the work. Win-win.
Yes, it costs. But is it worth it? I think so. Wouldn’t you rather pay a nominal fee than feel guilty every time you had a coffee? I drink a lot of coffee.
Terracycle sorts and shreds the pods, and here’s what happens to the separate parts:
Plastics are cleaned, pelletized, and turned into a variety of recycled materials, from plastic lumber to recycle bins.
Metals are sent
to be smelted /recycled.
Coffee grinds are separated and sent to a composter who uses them on farmers fields.
How awesome is that???
In this day and age, this is the stuff that matters. And it really should. We can do something about it, and it doesn’t have to be difficult.
My Zero Waste box holds about 250 pods…I think it has about 50 in it, so we have a long way to go before we send it back.
I also love involving the kids in recycling, even if it’s something they’re not using right now. It’s important they know we care about the environment and that we’re doing something to protect it.
Oh-and if you think it begins and ends at coffee pods, you should check out their website! They have zero waste boxes for coffee capsules, drink pouches, hair nets, action figures, ink and toner, oral hygiene items, and so much more. It’s awesome!
Let me know if you end up getting one, I would love to hear about your experiences-and if you involve your kids!
Diferente de outros resíduos, a reciclagem de esponjas custa caro e, por isso, até então não eram consideradas material viável para reciclar, como explica Renata Ross, gerente de relacionamento da Terracycle Brasil, empresa responsável pelo projeto.
Por: Víctor Molina: PR TerraCycle
Monterrey, Nuevo León, 9 de diciembre de 2016.- Cada año se generan 5,000 millones de toneladas de desechos en el mundo, de los cuales sólo el 20% es reciclable. El 80% restante termina en tiraderos como sucede la mayoría de las veces en México o son quemados y usados como combustibles en el caso de algunos países europeos.
Dos dificultades mayores tiene el reciclaje tal y como está concebido ahora: se genera excesiva basura y la que se crea está compuesta por materiales demasiado complejos. Algunos envoltorios de alimentos contienen hasta 20 tipos de plástico diferentes. Así que por muy buena voluntad que tengamos los ciudadanos, la mayoría de lo que se tira no puede utilizarse de nuevo, a pesar de que creamos lo contrario.
La iniciativa de un joven canadiense ha dado un giro a esta dinámica en los últimos años. Tom Szaky, alumno en la Universidad de Princeton, TerraCycle, Inc. empezó produciendo fertilizantes orgánicos mediante el embotellado de “excrementos licuados de lombrices” en botellas de refrescos usadas. Desde este comienzo poco prometedor, TerraCycle ha llegado a ser una de las empresas verdes de mayor crecimiento en el mundo.
Hoy, TerraCycle es una reconocida compañía internacional de supra reciclaje y reciclaje que recolecta envolturas y productos difíciles de reciclar y los transforma en productos innovadores y económicos. TerraCycle está ampliamente reconocida como líder mundial en la recolección y reutilización de residuos post-consumidor no reciclable.
En el mes de Septiembre TerraCycle México está cumpliendo su 7° aniversario recolectando y reciclando basura alrededor de la república mexicana; dicho lo anterior dejamos un recordatorio de cómo podemos volvernos recolectores dentro del país y no solo contribuir a la mejor de nuestro ambiente también retribuir a otras asociaciones sin fines de lucro.
¿Cómo funciona?
La operación está organizada en programas, cada una de las cuales se centra en un producto en particular difícil de reciclar como envolturas de jabón, bolsas de pan, empaques de galletas, bolsas de botana, productos de cuidado bucal y envolturas de pan dulce. Estos desechos pueden recolectarse en cajas de cualquier tamaño para su recolección.
TerraCycle paga todos los gastos de envío, una vez enviados los desechos a la empresa, el recolector suma dinero a una cuenta individual ($0.25 por empaque), que es donado a organizaciones filantrópicas, escuelas y programas comunitarios. La basura recolectada (envolturas, sobres, tubos, etc.) es convertida en carteras, monederos, estuches mochilas o bolsas, que son fabricados por terceros y comercializados por la compañía.
¿Cómo convertirse en un Recolector?
Varios equipos de recolección de residuos se han puesto a trabajar en los diferentes programas que TerraCycle (26,862 personas alrededor de México). La dinámica para comenzar es muy sencilla; se debe ingresar a la página www.terracycle.com.mx y escoger los programas de recolección que van desde bolsas de botana hasta productos de cuidado bucal, una vez realizado este paso se comienza con la recolección, los recolectores podrán ver por medio de la página los puntos que van ganando y de esta forma convertirlos en dinero para la organización de su elección. Una gran ventaja de estos programas es que los recolectores pueden dar de alta cualquier asociación sin fines de lucro, escuela o hasta iglesia de su comunidad para ver de una forma directa los beneficios de su donación.
La Cantidad más reciente que se ha logrado donar son $409,936.74 pesos. Algunas de las asociaciones que se han visto beneficiadas son las siguientes:
1. APANICAL (Asociación de Padres de Niños con Cáncer y Leucemia)- Ubicada en Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, ha recibido $135,360 pesos.
2. Escuela Secundaria 20 Juan F. Escamilla- Recibió $22,999 pesos, esta escuela se localiza en Monterrey, Nuevo León.
3. Escuela Francisco I. Madero- En Mezquitic, Jalisco recibió $20,029 pesos.
4. Operación Sonrisa-En Zapopan, Jalisco recibió $16,185 pesos.
¿Y tú, te atreves a hacer algo por el medio ambiente?
TerraCycle empezó como una compañía de fertilizantes orgánicos y ha llegado a ser una de las más fuertes en productos ecológicos en el mundo. Tom tuvo el sueño de encontrar una nueva forma de ser responsables con el medio ambiente, beneficiar al planeta, a la gente y a su propio negocio.
Las nuevas generaciones tienen mayor conciencia y preocupación por el uso y el futuro de los recursos naturales, sin embargo aún queda mucho camino por recorrer, y se vuelve necesario que la población mexicana ponga de su parte para hacer del planeta un lugar más sustentable. Si nosotros no comenzamos un cambio hoy, ¿quién lo hará?.
Did you know that Wellness was the first pet food company that took the initiative to fight to keep their packing from ending up in landfills? They are! They reached out to TerraCycle® and came up with a free program that gives pet parents, organization, and schools a monetary incentive to mail empty Wellness pet food packaging at no cost to them and in return, they can earn cash or gifts for their favorite school or non-profit! Yes, they get paid for sending what would typically end up as trash, so everyone wins!
For each pound of waste that is sent in, you’ll receive 100 TerraCycle points. They currently accept any Wellness® Complete Health™ and Wellness® Complete Health™ Grain Free dry food packaging, Wellness® CORE dry food packaging, and Wellness® TruFood® Baked Blends dry food packaging.
Earn Cash for Your School or Organization
This program would make an excellent classroom or schoolwide project! Or, get together your dog club members, or other community group and sign up. The rewards can let you help others just by recycling.
While your pet is enjoying the health benefits of eating Wellness which is packed with natural ingredients, super nutrients, better nutrition and conscious ingredient sourcing, you’ll profit by recycling through the TerraCycle program! Plus, you’ll see the signs of true pet health and wellbeing in your pet as well with softer fur and healthier teeth. Pets love the hearty animal proteins including beef and salmon. My girls are eating lamb, and it seems to be suiting them well. It’s also grain-free and has healthy carbs, so they’re spoiled by the full-flavors of the high-quality proteins in their food.
