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.

O Prêmio Eco se consolidou como o mais respeitado prêmio de sustentabilidade empresarial do País. E a Record News compartilha deste objetivo comum que é ver o mundo melhor. Heródoto Barbeiro, do Jornal da Record News, foi o apresentador da 34ª edição do evento.

Ao todo, foram 16 vencedores em diferentes categorias, incluindo startups, que, pela primeira vez, concorreram de forma separada. Uma das vencedoras nesse segmento foi a TerraCycle, empresa americana que está no Brasil desde 2009 e que tenta eliminar o lixo.

Recycling partnership to last ‘indefinitely’ Benches are a place to rest your butt. But what about a bench made out of butts? Cigarette butts, that is. Downtown Whitewater, Inc. has partnered with Terracycle, a non-profit organization based in New Jersey, to conduct an ongoing project in which cigarette butts are recycled into fiberglass and plastic materials to be reused for various projects, including creating park benches, recycling containers and playground equipment. “The city’s been wanting to do something for a while that would really encourage people to use a uniform receptacle downtown to prevent cigarette butts from ending up on the ground,” Director of Downtown Whitewater, Inc. Courtney Nelson said. Terracycle shipped several receptacles to Downtown Whitewater, Inc., which will be used to collect cigarette butts. When the holders become full, they will be shipped to the Terracycle facility, where the company will break down the cigarette filters and form them into fiberglass. The process of recycling the cigarette butts in various products is completed in three steps: Sterilization under special circumstances: In cases where cigarette waste is collected from a location with a high risk of contamination; the cigarette waste is sterilized using gamma radiation and tested for bacteria in the waste. Shredding and separation: In which cigarette waste is shredded and separated into organic and non-organic waste components. The organic waste is the tobacco, paper and ash, and the non-organic waste is the cigarette filter and packaging. Solution: Organic waste is sent to tobacco composting facilities. The non-organic waste is blended with other recycled material and pelletized to be used to create various recycled plastic products. Reducing landfill waste Volunteers and members of Downtown Whitewater, Inc. collected more than 18 pounds of cigarette butts off the ground around  city of Whitewater between April and November, Nelson said. Terracycle pays $1 to its partners for every full container of cigarette butts. Nelson said all funds gained through this project will be used to fund other green energy projects in the Whitewater community.   “It’s not a lot of money, but we’re getting funds from something that would otherwise go into a landfill,” Nelson said. “So it seems like a win-win for everybody.” Terracycle public affairs specialist Lauren Taylor said the organization was originally founded in 2001 as fertilizing company to reuse farm waste. Terracycle is partnered with 25 cities in the U.S., including Baltimore, Maryland, New Orleans, Louisiana, St. Louis, Missoui and Portland, Oregon. “For anybody who wants to try to keep waste out of a landfill, we want to be there to help with that process,” Taylor said. “We’d like to continue to grow to keep the value of resources to be reused, and we want to keep waste out of the environment.” A long-term partnership On how long the “The Butts to Benches” campaign will last, “the answer is indefinitely, Nelson said. The receptacles downtown are here to stay. “The canisters are permanent,” Nelson said. “We’ll keep sending cigarette butts for as long as Terracycle will accept them. We’re looking at this as a long-term partnership.” Downtown Whitewater, Inc. is looking to expand its partnership with Terracycle to include other zero-waste projects. Downtown Whitewater, Inc. also works with John’s Disposal Service, a recycling company that serves a multitude of cities in southern Wisconsin, to reduce the amount of waste in the community. Nelson said the number one thing people can do to help is to use the receptacles. “All the effort that went into getting the receptacles out here only pays off if people use them,” Nelson said. “We’ve placed them in locations where we had seen cigarette butts collecting on the ground.” Nelson said she hopes the receptacles are located in convenient places. “We ask that people scope out where they are and use them,” Nelson said. “We hope to see those who smoke disposing of garbage in a productive way. Walking the extra half block does really help in furthering green initiatives around the country.” Increasing Awareness Students Allied for a Green Earth (SAGE) Co-President Lorenzo Backhaus said the campaign will most likely have a positive effect on the Whitewater community and UW-Whitewater. “Eliminating waste and reducing pollution and reusing it is the answer to a lot of environmental issues,” Backhaus said. “Taking these cigarette butts that people have thrown on the ground and reusing them towards multiple peoples’ benefit is a great idea.” Backhaus said it would be even better to also conduct similar projects to reduce and reuse plastic waste to benefit many people. “This campus tries to recycle, but our labels on our garbage cans aren’t the best,” Backhaus said. “If we could just identify campus plastics and put more labels on our recycling and garbage cans, then we could show that we can send it somewhere to benefit people, and not just throw it in a landfill.” Approximately 3.5 trillion cigarette filters are littered globally, filled with toxic chemicals from tobacco smoke, make their way into our environment as discarded waste yearly, according to a Terracycle press release. In 2009, a Keep America Beautiful study found that cigarette waste accounted for 38 percent of all U.S. roadway litter, according to a Terracycle press release. “I don’t want to assume that all people don’t use [their cigarettes] all the way to the bottom,” Backhaus said. “But all these chemicals sitting on the ground definitely isn’t good for plants or animals. Birds will come up and try to eat it. Animals might mistake it for insects. To eliminate waste and reuse it for something is definitely a plus.” Backhaus said plastic can take up to one thousand years to biodegrade when it’s sitting in a landfill or floating in the ocean. “We’re a student org that’s fighting to make sure that [UW-Whitewater] is as sustainable and as green as possible,” Backhaus said. SAGE holds biweekly campus cleanups every other Sunday at 1 p.m. The location designated for volunteer cleaning varies per outing. Green vests, garbage bags and work gloves are provided to volunteers. Backhaus said the organization picks up two garbage bags worth of waste each time. Cigarette waste can be detrimental to the environment, Backhaus said. He hopes the message will be spread to many people to create more awareness on the program. Backhaus said offering this alternative method for disposing of cigarette butts will provide an incentive to put waste in a place where it will help improve the environment. “If people are educated and aware, they will be more entitled to participate,” Backhaus said. “Now that I’m aware of it, on our campus cleanups for SAGE, we’ll bring an extra bag and focus on picking up cigarette butts to throw them in the containers.”

Consider the dirty diaper. Of course, most people would rather not. But consider that the used versions of incontinence products account for about 2 percent of the stuff that clogs American landfills, with 3.7 million tons dumped in 2010. If that seems like a problem, Tom Szaky’s company has a solution. Szaky, chief executive officer of Trenton, N.J.-based TerraCycle, spoke about his favorite subject – garbage – Dec. 6 at Upper St. Clair High School for the Town Hall South lecture series. He explained how TerraCycle scientists have developed a means to separate the artificial and organic materials, including the unpleasantries, and into either compost or plastic pellets to be repurposed for new consumer goods. “We are on a consumption fix. When we buy stuff, that is what causes every environmental issue in the world.” That’s just one example of the company’s mission: “Collecting and recycling things that could never be recycled before,” Szaky said. Cigarettes represent another, as all those discarded butts that smokers toss casually aside could be collected and used in an infinitely better manner. Hirsute and dressed casually, especially for Town Hall South, the 34-year-old Hungary native provided a simple societal reason for TerraCycle even to exist. “We are on a consumption fix,” he said. “When we buy stuff, that is what causes every environmental issue in the world.” As such, and flying in the face of the current seasonal spending spree, Szaky recommended that members of the capacity crowd consider buying durable instead of disposable goods, and to buy used items. “The very best thing, which I challenge you on, is to stop buying unless you really have to,” he said. Szaky told the audience about his first efforts on the road toward TerraCycle, when he was a student at Princeton University. He showed a slide depicting an impressive multilevel contraption designed to take food waste, feed it to worms and emerge with compost. “No one would invest in our idea,” he admitted. The next try worked better, packaging liquefied compost in discarded soda bottles as marketing them as TerraCycle Plant Food. Szaky said he promptly received letters from lawyers representing beverage companies, claiming infringement on intellectual property because of the bottles’ shapes, but he convinced them that his intentions were good. One multinational corporation, though, threatened a protracted legal battle, one that TerraCycle couldn’t afford. So the fledgling company went another route instead. “You don’t have to play on their playing field,” Szaky explained. “We decided to play this in the media rather than in the courtroom.” The result was plenty of positive coverage for TerraCycle and a corresponding boost in sales that helped pave the way toward stability and sustained growth. Today, the company is housed in a renovated 100,000-square-foot building, where artists around Trenton always are welcome to expressive their creativity by painting on the walls. Meanwhile, Szaky continues to laud the American business environment for giving him the opportunity to pursue an unconventional path. “This is a country where you can create ideas and take risks,” he said, “because without risk, you can’t innovate.” He also pointed to the entrepreneurial successes of immigrants like himself. “That’s important to remember, especially in today’s political climate.”

Além da Korin, receberam o troféu a AES Holdings Brasil, Blue Sol, Boticário, Braskem, C&A, CELPE, Dow, Habitar Construções Inteligentes, Itaú Unibanco, Orbenk, Precon, Rhodia, RL Sistemas de Higiene, TerraCycle do Brasil.

As vencedoras deste ano foram AES Holdings Brasil, Blue Sol, Boticário, Braskem, C&A;, CELPE, Dow, Habitar Construções Inteligentes, Itaú Unibanco, Korin, Orbenk, Precon, Rhodia, RL Sistemas de Higiene, TerraCycle do Brasil.

GU Energy Labs has announced a new packaging sleeve for Gu Energy Chews. The sleeve now carries a stack of eight individual Energy Chews that each deliver 20 calories. "Now easier to open, eat on the go, and share with friends, GU Energy Chews contain sodium to replenish electrolytes, complex and simple carbohydrates for fast and lasting energy, and branched-chain amino acids to help prevent mental fatigue and reduce muscle damage," the company said.  The company said the new double-serving package fulfils the wishes of athletes who asked for a compact way to carry more fuel. Gu Energy Labs will continue to offer Energy Chews in single-serving pouches for athletes that prefer the smaller serving size. Flavors include strawberry, blueberry pomegranate, orange, and watermelon. Like all Gu Energy Labs packaging, the new Energy Chews sleeves can be recycled with Terracycle.

Global eye health company Bausch + Lomb has launched a national recycling program to provide Americans with a responsible option for their otherwise non-recyclable contact lenses and blister packs. By partnering with recycling company TerraCycle to create the Bausch + Lomb ONE by ONE recycling program, Bausch + Lomb gives contact lens wearers the ability to recycle used BiotrueONEday brand contact lenses and blister packs, and lenses and packs from other Bausch + Lomb brands, as well as all other contact lens brands.   Contact lenses and blister packs are considered non-recyclable through municipal facilities mainly because they are too small to be captured by standard sorting machinery. Through the Bausch + Lomb ONE by ONE recycling program, contact lenses and blister packs are now 100% recyclable, providing a nationwide solution to prevent these items from entering the waste stream, at zero cost to the consumer. Once collected, contact lenses and blister packs are separated and cleaned. The metal layers of the blister packs are recycled separately, while the contact lenses and plastic blister-pack components are melted into plastic that can be remolded to make recycled products. For every pound of accepted BiotrueONEday and other Bausch + Lomb brand packaging sent through this program, a $1 donation will be made to Optometry Giving Sight, a global fundraising initiative that targets the prevention of blindness and impaired vision. “Bausch + Lomb is continuously striving to become a more environmentally sustainable company in order to preserve not only the well-being of our patients, but also of our environment,” says Guy Guglielmino, Vice President of Marketing, Vision Care, Bausch + Lomb. “With the launch of our Bausch + Lomb ONE by ONE recycling program, we are asking people to join us to take ONE small step each day to help the environment, so that together we can create a significant positive impact.” The Bausch + Lomb ONE by ONE recycling program is open to any interested individual, eye care professional, or organization.