P&G sets ambitious recycling goals for shampoo bottles
TerraCycle Include USA P&G Suez Beach Plastic Shampoo Bottle
At the World Economic Forum (WEF) on 19 January, P&G announced that its Head & Shoulders brand would partner with recycling experts TerraCycle and SUEZ to pioneer a new approach to produce the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle made from up to 25% postconsumer recycled content (PCR) derived from beach plastic.
P&G’s Lisa Jennings, global hair care sustainability leader and Head & Shoulders brand franchise leader, said the initiative reflects concern over ocean waste.
Jennings said the issue had been underscored by remarks at the previous year’s WEF by recycling campaigner Ellen MacArthur, who claimed that by 2050 the ocean could contain more plastics than fish.
“I grew up by the beach in Brighton in the South Coast of England, and I was stunned,” said Jennings.
“I thought about the world I would leave to my children and realised that, both as a consumer and a business leader, I had to play an active role in the solution.
“2017 will be a major year for Hair Care Sustainability. I couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved in making this a reality. Together, we made the unrecyclable recyclable, and gave a second life to plastic that usually ends up in landfills or on our beaches.
” P&G has long been inspired by the idea of plastic never becoming waste. Its citizenship goals for 2020 call for doubling the amount of recycled resin used in plastic packaging and ensuring that 90% of product packaging is either recyclable, or programmes are in place to create the ability to recycle it.