O Guardião Ambiental, em parceria com a TerraCycle, busca alternativas para colaborar com o meio ambiente na destinação correta de resíduos de difícil reciclabilidade.

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..

O Colégio Aliança uniu-se ao Programa Internacional de coleta seletiva a  TerraCycle,  uma empresa amiga do meio ambiente que se tornou a líder global no setor de reciclagem de resíduos de difícil reciclabilidade...

A comissão A3P de Rio Claro em parceria com o Departamento de Resíduos Sólidos e Secretaria Municipal de Educação trabalha com o projeto "Materiais de Escrita" da empresa Terra Cycle.

O Guardião Ambiental, em parceria com a TerraCycle, busca alternativas para colaborar com o meio ambiente na destinação correta de resíduos de difícil reciclabilidade.

Pioneira em ações socioambientais e preocupada com a destinação correta dos resíduos de instrumentos de escrita, a Faber-Castell, em parceria com a TerraCycle, promove  até 30 de novembro de 2016, o concurso “Pontos em Dobro”.

Whether you like it or not, bottled water is here to stay. It’s portable, accessible and a convenient way to stay healthy with fresh, purified water every day. Unfortunately, Americans throw out around 60 million of these plastic bottles every single day. Thankfully there are plenty of ways to stem the tide of this massive waste stream. By making simple, versatile swaps, you can stay hydrated all year without ever touching a disposable water bottle again. While Traveling It’s important to be mindful of your intake of liquids while traveling, no matter the weather. By replacing your disposable water bottle with a refillable alternative throughout your travels, you can even circumvent some of the rules and regulations that come with exploring in transit. For example, TSA regulations stipulate that liquid carry-on items can be no larger than 3.4 oz. per item—everyone forgets that water bottles fall into this category! Unopened or not, standard sizes for bottled water averages at around 17 oz., or five times that maximum. Airport security will not allow full water bottles, but an empty reusable bottle can be filled once you go through. Many airports even have water stations especially built to fill your bottle to the top with clean, filtered water. For Sports From professional leagues and the neighborhood team, to the high school intramural and little league sports, athletes need a lot of water, and they need it to be accessible. Before games, during practice and after matches are all good times to take a sip, whether your sport has you flying solo or chasing glory in a group, indoors and outdoors. Bottled water can be easy to cart around and dole out to the crowd, but there are other ways to get your drink on with clean, nourishing H2O. If you’re an athlete or even just watching the game, bring a reusable water bottle to events. Even better: get a reusable bottle with a built-in water filter and refill at the tap. Athletes and their fans consume water at such a rate that larger quantities need to be available, and bottles aren’t the only answer. Getting a faucet filtration system, or a water pitcher or dispenser with a filter like those sold by PUR, can easily fill up a 5-gallon water cooler and other water bottles present at the game. At Parties There’s always a reason to come together or celebrate year-round, especially during the fall and holiday seasons, and the most important part of any gathering is refreshments. Handing out bottles of water from the cooler or fridge can be a convenient way to keep your guests sipping, but keeping something like a PUR water pitcher with a filter allows guests to write their name on a cup and refill it over and over. A faucet adapter is another convenient way to keep guests happy and hydrated. Making big quantities of drinks like lemonade or punch is a breeze with a renewing supply of filtered water. At Concerts and Festivals Live music and outdoor events like concerts and festivals have the makings of incredible lifelong memories, but if you don’t eat and hydrate right, you’re going to have a bad time. Standing in line, walking in the sun, dancing it out and holding your spot by the barricade takes its toll on the body, and the most important thing you can do is keep your fluids up. Bottled water and other concessions are sold at most events of this type, but as one could imagine, disposable products tend to litter the ground at large events and festivals. Thankfully, many concerts and festivals now allow you to bring in a refillable Camelback or bottle, and have on-sight refilling stations. Keep in mind that event staff may not always allow you to bring a full bottle of any liquid into the venue, so you may want to keep your refillable bottles empty when going through security, and refilling once inside. At Home We are made of 50 – 65% water and need to replenish it constantly, no matter what we are doing or where we are. Whether its dinner or game night, filtered water is a healthy, affordable way to keep you hydrated without accumulating a pile of plastic bottles in your trash bin. As an added bonus, companies like PUR offer water filtration systems such as pitchers, faucet adapters and refill packs that are even recyclable through TerraCycle. You stay hydrated, save money, and the waste is diverted from the landfill. Be it glass, insulated, stainless steel or BPA-free plastic, reusable alternatives to bottled water come in all shapes and sizes. What’s your favorite?

Diana Burnes Gerente de Desarrollo de Negocios Encargada de buscar nuevas oportunidades de negocio en México para crear distintos programas de reciclaje. Desde sus inicios la misión de TerraCycle ha sido eliminar la idea de que existe basura, promoviendo recolectar y reciclar casi cualquier tipo de residuos. En la actualidad TerraCycle México se ha asociado con distintas marcas, creando programas que le ayudan a cumplir con su misión, con esto no solamente se ha conseguido aumentar la cultura de reciclaje en nuestro país, además las personas que se unen a los diferentes programas de recolección (envolturas de jabón, bolsas de pan, empaques de galletas, bolsas de botana, productos de cuidado bucal y envolturas de pan dulce) pueden apoyar a múltiples causas sociales. En esta sección te daremos a conocer a personas que hacen posible la recolección y reciclaje en nuestro país ¿Éstas Listo? 1. ¿Alguna vez pensaste estar trabajando para una compañía de Reciclaje? Siempre me ha gustado reciclar, pero nunca pensé que iba a terminar trabajando para una empresa que se dedica a reciclar. Ahora que soy parte del equipo TerraCycle soy mucho más consciente del impacto que tiene no clasificar la basura. Para poder reutilizar y reciclar, se necesita que cada tipo de material este separado, haya un flujo constante y se recolecte un volumen importante. Estar siempre pensando en reciclar los empaques me ha ayudado a darme cuenta de que muchos de los productos que uso a diario podrían caer en una categoría de reciclaje. Desde que empecé a echarle ganas a clasificar la basura de mi casa, el porcentaje que no se recicla es mínimo. 2. ¿Qué acciones diarias tomas para cuidar al ambiente? Promuevo separar la basura en mi casa para que sea más fácil reciclar. Cuido mucho el agua cuando me baño, intento comprar comida a granel para no desperdiciar el empaque y no uso cápsulas de café. Creo que para mejorar nuestro entorno primero debemos convertirnos en consumidores responsables tener cuidado al escoger los productos que compramos y preferir aquellos que son amigables con el ambiente. 3. ¿Eres Brigadista?, ¿En qué programas de recolección participas? Si soy brigadista y estoy participando en todos los programas. Mi mamá me ayuda a movilizar a sus grupos de amigas para que ellas estén recolectando en sus casas también. Cuando se juntan para el café, aprovechan y nos traen la basura; es una dinámica muy padre. En mi colonia recolectamos desde envolturas de botanas hasta productos de cuidado bucal, existe una gran motivación por aprender a ser consumidores más responsables y además es un plus estar beneficiando a alguna escuela o comunidad por las donaciones que estaremos haciendo ahora en Diciembre. 4. ¿Cómo te definirías ideológicamente? Soy una tree-hugger, un animal lover y estoy en pro-adopción de mascotas. Soy mamá de dos perritas adoptadas que adoro, y cada día estoy explorando nuevas maneras para poder consumir/crecer alimentos de manera responsable. 5. ¿Qué es lo que más te gusta de trabajar en TerraCycle? Me encanta que no tengo ninguna limitación. Cada día me despierto en la mañana con la libertad de escribirle a todo tipo de empresas en México para ofrecerles un programa de reciclaje súper innovador que además, trae muy buen retorno de inversión. Nunca te imaginas que el área de mercadotecnia de una empresa de consumo se puede beneficiar tanto de un programa que gira alrededor de la sustentabilidad y consumo responsable. La manera en la que trabajo es que en base al material me gustaría reciclar, yo empiezo a buscar la manera de venderle la idea a las marcas. Por ejemplo, ahorita estoy muy motivada para crear un programa de reciclaje de herramientas de escritura porque cuando me tocó la limpia de verano en mi casa, sacamos muchísimas plumas y marcadores que ya no funcionan. 6. ¿Qué prefieres, trabajar sola o en equipo?, ¿En qué dirías que difiere la dinámica? El trabajo en equipo es lo mejor, recuerda que si quieres ir rápido camina solo, si quieres llegar lejos ve acompañado. TerraCycle es una empresa joven y muy dinámica, tenemos oficinas en 20 países alrededor del mundo y lo característico de la empresa es que los equipos de trabajo son muy pequeños. Por ejemplo, en el equipo de México somos 6 personas. Soy fan de las sesiones de brainstorming, las paredes pizarrón, las listas de todos y los corchos en mi opinión crean un ambiente de trabajo creativo en donde las ideas pueden fluir fácilmente. Me encanta involucrar a mis compañeros para sacar adelante proyectos y pensar en nuevas maneras de revolucionar la industria del reciclaje, pero también hay momentos en que me gusta estar concentrada y me pongo mis audífonos. Pero definitivamente, la comunicación entre los departamentos es esencial y hago todo lo posible porque mi ambiente de trabajo promueva el trabajo en equipo. 7. ¿Qué te gusta tener en tu área de trabajo? Plantas. Muchas plantas. Visualmente, hacen los espacios más agradables y me gusta poder cuidarlas en mis ratos libres. Es una manera muy padre de calmar la mente y estar recordar la razón por la cual estoy haciendo mi trabajo: el medio ambiente. 8. ¿Cuál crees que es el factor que dificulta el reciclaje en nuestro país? Creo que la gente quiere aprender y participar, pero la infraestructura lo hace un poco complicado. A los Mexicanos nos encanta el confort y desafortunadamente, reciclar representa una actividad extra que requiere tiempo y esfuerzo. Creo que entre más atención le pongamos a mejorar la infraestructura de recolección y separación, más fácil será para la gente participar. 9. ¿Cuál es tu pasatiempo favorito? La fotografía me encanta. Es una manera artística en la que puedo compartir la manera en la que veo el mundo con otras personas. 10. ¿Cuál es tu mayor satisfacción en el trabajo? Mi mayor satisfacción en el trabajo viene cuando estoy teniendo una conversación positiva con una marca. El mejor momento viene después de idear un concepto, crear una propuesta y presentarla al cliente, cuando escuchas que les encantó y la visión encaja con sus planes para la marca. Cuando esto pasa siento que estoy teniendo un impacto no solo en el medio ambiente, sino también en la manera en la que la comunidad piensa. 11. ¿Qué te gustaría que se llegara a reciclar en México? Todo. ¿Porque hay que limitarnos? 12. Para finalizar la entrevista, ¿Algún mensaje para los jóvenes lectores? Recuerden que es muy importante ser un agente de cambio. Si ustedes tienen ciertas ideas que tienen un impacto positivo en cualquier ámbito, hay que esforzarnos por esparcirlas y hacerlas realidad.

Consumers care about recycling. In a survey conducted for Packaging Digest’s 2015 Sustainable Packaging Study, 57% of participants cite a product’s recyclability to be top of mind when it comes to the environment and sustainability, a product featuring recycled content and reduced packaging coming up for second and third place. The majority of consumers see recyclability as the most important factor in choosing sustainable products, and it is consumers that ultimately drive company behavior. However, the recyclability of a waste output depends on the degree of access the average consumer has to its solution; the solution to which the average consumer has the most access is their local recycling facility. Only if it can profit from the processing and selling of the materials will a local recycling facility collect a waste stream, which occurs if the collection and processing of said items costs less than what they can be sold for. Thus, most products and packaging are considered non-recyclable in the current municipal infrastructure due to economics. Companies seek to address consumer concerns and market trends by working to make their products municipally recyclable, and one of the methods companies use to do so is to create or join an industry coalition. An industry coalition is a pact among firms in a market for a common interest. In this method, companies form an alliance to work with recyclers to accept their materials. Like a sort of lobbyist group, an industry coalition aims to influence decisions about the processes that affect their special interest, which in this case the municipal recyclability of the companies’ products and packaging. Industry coalitions working with municipal recycling can work, but only in two circumstances. The first is when the material is inherently valuable, but falls outside the waste management infrastructure. In most cases, municipal recycling facilities (MRFs) already recycle these waste streams, and the collecting and processing the material is less than the value of the recovered material, making it profitable for MRFs to recycle the product. Take the Carton Council of North America. In 2009, milk, soup, and juice cartons made from paper, plastic, and sometimes aluminum were only municipally recyclable for 18% of Americans due to the mixed nature of the carton materials. To divert cartons from landfills by way of making them municipally recyclable, members Elopack, Evergreen, SIG Combibloc and Tetrapak came together in 2009 to form the Carton Council, enlisting the help of recycling and logistics experts, building processing infrastructure, developing end of life markets, and promoting consumer awareness through partnerships with schools. By 2015, 57% of American households could recycle cartons, either through single stream recycling or grouped with plastics, metals, and glass. One of the main reasons for the success of the Carton Council is that recycling cartons for their component materials is inherently cost effective for the high quality fiber, polyethylene and aluminum recovered from the recycling process; cartons have now received their own material grades. Consumer perception of Carton Council manufacturers also had a positive impact on the effectiveness of the initiative, which was aided by a public willingness to capture materials for processing. The second scenario in which industry coalitions working with MRFs succeed is when legislation drives change through mandated guide, like the ban of plastic bag use in San Francisco in 2007; consumers were charged 10 cents per bag, creating cost incentives to use reusable bags, and other municipalities followed suit. Today, 36 states in the U.S. have now enacted legislation regarding the use and disposal of film plastic bags, and 91 and 93% of U.S. population has access to plastic bag recycling through curbside or nearby collection programs. Instead of and in combination with industry coalitions and changing material composition (which allows companies to use existing recycling infrastructure, but at high cost), companies can also work outside the currently inefficient municipal recycling infrastructure, and develop their own. My company TerraCycle works with companies like Colgate and Febreze that aim to solve for their product and packaging waste and make what was previously unrecyclable nationally recyclable through sponsored recycling programs. Infrastructure changes at the private and municipal level are not without cost, nor are they without challenges. But companies willing to pay a premium to take responsibility for their waste pay for the collection and processing of their materials so that they can be sold as a marketable resource. When companies streamline the recycling process by developing end of life solutions for things like used toothbrushes and empty air fresheners, as well as new recycling techniques and technologies, their waste can become profitable to recycle. Industry coalitions can solve for waste while working within current recycling infrastructure, but finding new solutions that move us towards a more comprehensive, regenerative system provides companies and municipalities more room for the innovation of new waste management technologies. There are clearly solutions for difficult-to-recycle waste streams when companies provide the resources necessary to make them possible, and consumers have the influence to reward those companies with their wallets.

The global market for coffee pods and capsules expanded 16 percent in 2015, the significance of which is dwarfed by the 30 percent sector increase for the category in the U.K. alone, where projections estimate £137.5 million in supermarket sales. Soon to overtake standard roast, ground and instant coffee, according a study from Kantar Worldpanel, coffee pods and capsules continue their rise to the standard in hot beverage consumption, “The Clooney Effect” playing no small part in this continuing market trend.   And it doesn’t stop at coffee and tea. The capsule and pod technologies that so successfully disrupted the hot beverage industry for the greater part of a decade have been since applied to a burgeoning number of food and drink categories, turning food and drink into the most profitable business since software. Beer-drinkers who want something beyond a home brewing kit can turn to a modulated beer machine that uses prepackaged pods to brew a cold batch. Pod technology for Jell-O shots have been marketed for the B2B (bars and catering) and B2C markets, cutting down on the time it takes to make the novelty items, and the space taken up in your fridge.   On the opposite side of the spectrum, a baby formula manufacturer has developed a system featuring capsules containing differentiated and optimized nutrition for every stage of an infant’s development. “Organic, fresh tortillas” individually pressed and cooked from pods containing a ball of dough (inserted into a machine are now available for your home, because the manufacturer says “best way to enjoy a tortilla is right after it has been freshly baked and is still warm.” The list goes on of new start-ups and inventions that aim to do for their respective markets that the pod system did for coffee.   Though the proliferation of this kind of trending technology is easily dismissed as being “trendy,” these kinds of innovations address a need in the market that is only confirmed by consumer behavior. Pods and capsules do not exist in a vacuum; where there are problems in need of solutions, pods and capsules are in a position to provide. And consumers are buying them.   Convenience is currency, as is time and ease of use, but what of innovation? Consumers are becoming more interested in health food trends, food science, and access to quality food experiences in the home, and the disruptive nature of pods and capsules create a new space in the food and drink market.   But even more so now that it has been clearly demonstrated that people will not abstain from capsule and pod technologies, despite their environmental implications, what the compact contraptions mean for sustainability is a considerable issue. The pods are not recyclable in the current infrastructure due to their component parts. Comprised of plastics, aluminum and sometimes paper, a person would need to separate and take the pods apart in order to effectively recycle the elements in their respective bins; in this fast-paced culture of convenience, it is safe to say that few pod-users would not consider this step. Further, contact with food and beverage would mean that most municipal recycling facilities would require this waste to undergo additional processing so as to not contaminate recycled batches.   However, consumers do have recycling options for their beverage capsule and pod waste. My company TerraCycle solves for nearly every type of waste through our premium Zero Waste Box solution, including coffee capsules. Simply fill with coffee and beverage pods and send back to TerraCycle using the pre-paid shipping label. Consumers can enjoy the convenience and innovation of this turn-key recycling solution as they do pod and capsule technology. While these disruptive innovators in the food and additional beverage markets remain start-ups in the beginning stages of growth, end-of-life solutions can be developed early to prevent unnecessary waste from negatively impacting the planet. Innovative, sustainable solutions for waste can be worked into the product function from the start, inventing the most efficient, environmentally sound ways to accommodate the world’s changing lifestyles.