Henkel is transitioning to fully recyclable toothpaste tubes for their entire oral care portfolio by early 2021. The German consumer goods company said that the move supports their sustainable packaging target of reaching 100% recyclability by 2025.   The classic toothpaste tubes that consumers use by the millions daily have a multi-layer construction that makes the packaging difficult for recycling facilities to process, according to Henkel. In response, the company plans to use technology from their packaging supplier Albéa that allows the tubes to be fully recyclable.   Both the Association of Plastic Recyclers in the United States and Suez. Circpack in Europe recognize Albéa’s Greenleaf tubes as recyclable within existing HDPE bottles recycling streams, Henkel said. Albéa’s process is proprietary, but Henkel did say that the technology for making tubes uses a single-blown film that significantly reduces the carbon dioxide footprint of the packaging.   Spanish toothpaste brand Licor del Polo will have the first fully recyclable tubes with the rest of the oral care brands transitioning by the start of next year, Henkel said.   The switch to Greenleaf tubes allows more than 700 tons of packaging material to be utilized and recovered by waste recycling streams annually, according to Philippe Blank, head of packaging sustainability at Henkel Beauty Care.   Beyond rolling out the recyclable tubes, Henkel and Albéa said they are working together on addressing other aspects of toothpaste packaging. “We have a clear goal: Together we want to launch the world’s first full HDPE tube in 2021, which will then include the cap as well,” Blank said.   Initiatives to keep toothpaste packaging out of landfills have increased over the past few years. In 2018, Colgate and TerraCycle launched a UK program for consumers to recycle oral care products and packaging, regardless of brand. More recently Colgate introduced a fully recyclable tube made from HDPE for its Tom’s of Maine brand in the United States and a new line called Smile for Good in Europe.