This coming Halloween may be unlike past years due to COVID-19, but there are still plenty of ways to have a safe, spooky, and Earth-friendly holiday. Iowa City's recycling coordinator Jane Wilch has a Jack-o'-lantern filled with fun ideas on how to have a green Halloween this year.

Durable, reusable, recyclable Halloween decorations

Choose decorations that you can use year after year. For recyclable decorations, look for plastics that are #1-5 or #7, as #6 and unlabeled plastics are not recyclable. Avoid metallic or glitter-coated decorations, as these cannot be recycled. Questions? Check out icgov.org/recycle.

Eco-friendly costumes

Although we are recommending that trick-or-treaters avoid door-to-door contact this year, there are plenty of ways to get creative with and be sustainable with costumes. Use what you already have around the house to create a costume, or shop for a costume secondhand! Use these ideas to participate in a socially-distanced Halloween parade! Check out our great selection of local secondhand and consignment stores for costumes. Make sure that in addition to a Halloween mask, a face covering over your nose and mouth will help keep you safe from COVID.

Give sustainable treats

Consider candy options with less packaging, or have organic or Fairtrade status. Alternatively, you can offer a treat other than candy! Provide treats from a safe distance, from your driveway, or in your yard. Light the path to your treats and direct traffic away from your door. Wear a face mask over your nose and mouth, and remember, Halloween masks do not protect against COVID. Sometimes, individually-wrapped candy is the easiest and safest option. In this case, you can still make a difference by recycling the candy wrappers through Terracycle. Connect with your neighbors to fill up a box to send to Terracycle.

Collect your candy and treats in a reusable or durable option

Use a reusable cloth bag, pillow case, or wicker basket (among many other options) to carry your candy around while trick-or-treating. Always wear your face coverings, and don’t forget the hand sanitizer!

Compost your pumpkins and gourds

To compost at the curb, remove any candles or lights from inside your pumpkin and place it in your organics container (City cart, or personal 20-35 gallon upright container), or in a paper yard waste bag, and then set it at the curb for collection on your normal service day. Residents can also take pumpkins to the Iowa City Landfill’s compost facility to be composted at no charge.

The world has a plastic problem. By 2050, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish, by weight. That’s because over 50% of plastic consumed in the world today is used once and disposed of, including toothbrushes.   In fact, Americans throw away over one billion toothbrushes each year. And because toothbrushes are made from nearly indestructible, non-biodegradable polypropylene plastic and nylon, almost every single plastic toothbrush ever produced is still in existence.   But, plastic toothbrushes are a relatively new phenomenon. Prior to the 1930s, toothbrushes were produced from more eco-friendly materials, like bark or porcupine quills. Luckily, today you don’t have to find a porcupine to be able to clean your teeth in an environmentally friendly manner. Bamboo toothbrushes are more popular and more effective than ever.  

Why Bamboo?

Bamboo wood is a fully biodegradable substance made from the bamboo plant. It’s also highly sustainable as bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth which usually doesn’t require the use of fertilizers, pesticides or irrigation to grow.   Therefore, the only parts of a bamboo toothbrush that can potentially harm the environment are the bristles and the packaging. However, the bristles are normally recyclable, and most companies provide paper packaging for their bamboo toothbrushes.  

How to Dispose of a Bamboo Toothbrush

Because bamboo toothbrushes are made from two different substances, the first step in properly disposing of the toothbrush is to remove the bristles from the handle. This can easily be done with a set of pliers.   The bristles can be disposed of along with your plastic recyclables. The bamboo handle can then be composted, burned or used around the house as a plant marker, crafting accessory or DIY tool.   If you’re ready to make the switch to a bamboo toothbrush, keep reading to find out more about the eight best options available for purchase on Amazon.  

"When COVID hit ... what scared me honestly was the deluge of reporters calling saying, 'Should we write off the idea of reuse in an age of contagion?'" he recalled during a panel at the Circularity 20 conference in May. Journalists were referring to the slashing of reuse-refill and "zero waste" initiatives taking place across the corporate world. This, combined with cautionary messaging from the plastics industry, contributed to a narrative that reusable systems — a fledgling industry born out of the desire to avoid disposable products and packaging — may be a risky business. Szaky argues, however, that rather than being a threat to the new reuse economy, the pandemic has ushered in an opportunity to professionalize its services. Launched over a year ago to much hype, the Loop concept — still in its trial phase, but partnering with some of the world's largest CPG companies — has been leading the way in terms of reusable, refillable packaging as a niche business opportunity for the grocery and retail sectors. The last several months have seen not less, but more usage of the Loop service and, as a result, Szaky has pointed to it as a hopeful example for what the post-pandemic future of reuse could look like. Loop's strict cleaning protocols, he says, should quell any fears about contamination and its online portal allows consumers to shop from the safety of home. These features may offer a solution to some of the risks associated with reusable circularity that brands and retailers worry about moving forward. As the world rebuilds in the wake of the pandemic, Szaky and others in the reuse sector are hoping to shift from a movement centered around DIY, consumer-led programs to one more suitable to industrial applications. This may even come in the form of tighter regulations around reusable systems overall. But some say while raising the profile of these systems is a good thing the industry should be careful about narrowing down to market-driven solutions too quickly. Loop, after all, is still an experiment.

The world has a plastic problem. By 2050, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish, by weight. That’s because over 50% of plastic consumed in the world today is used once and disposed of, including toothbrushes.   In fact, Americans throw away over one billion toothbrushes each year. And because toothbrushes are made from nearly indestructible, non-biodegradable polypropylene plastic and nylon, almost every single plastic toothbrush ever produced is still in existence.   But, plastic toothbrushes are a relatively new phenomenon. Prior to the 1930s, toothbrushes were produced from more eco-friendly materials, like bark or porcupine quills. Luckily, today you don’t have to find a porcupine to be able to clean your teeth in an environmentally friendly manner. Bamboo toothbrushes are more popular and more effective than ever.  

Why Bamboo?

Bamboo wood is a fully biodegradable substance made from the bamboo plant. It’s also highly sustainable as bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth which usually doesn’t require the use of fertilizers, pesticides or irrigation to grow.   Therefore, the only parts of a bamboo toothbrush that can potentially harm the environment are the bristles and the packaging. However, the bristles are normally recyclable, and most companies provide paper packaging for their bamboo toothbrushes.  

How to Dispose of a Bamboo Toothbrush

Because bamboo toothbrushes are made from two different substances, the first step in properly disposing of the toothbrush is to remove the bristles from the handle. This can easily be done with a set of pliers.   The bristles can be disposed of along with your plastic recyclables. The bamboo handle can then be composted, burned or used around the house as a plant marker, crafting accessory or DIY tool.   If you’re ready to make the switch to a bamboo toothbrush, keep reading to find out more about the eight best options available for purchase on Amazon.  

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.

From refillable products, zero-waste packaging and ocean waste plastics, to what you can and can't actually recycle, Kelsey Ferencak and TerraCycle's Jean Bailliard explain how to properly dispose of your #empties.

Do you pause with plastic poised over your waste bin, squinting to see recycling numbers, or question the compostability of a coffee cup? You have company. Colmar Brunton’s 2020 Better Futures report found 67% of us want more business environmental action. We toss 97 million plastic bottles into landfill, yet half of us say we would switch brands based on sustainability. Perhaps we should take more personal responsibility. Sandford, a self-professed ‘sustainable’ fishery, packs my market fish on a plastic tray with no recycling number, then clingwraps it. Following my enquiry, it says it is moving to using sustainable packaging. After a call to Hellers about the lack of a recycling number on packs, Brydon Heller replied that customer pressure is prompting them to change to recyclable packaging. So speak up. The supermarket that banned plastic carry-bags festoons me with produce plastic bags, so my veges now go loose to the checkout. Last year, a report from the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor came to the worrying conclusion that there is no coordinated approach to reporting plastics use. But the report is baffling – it stated the aim of onshore recycling by 2025 of PET, HDPE, PP and perhaps LDPE. Elsewhere, the kids’ ‘ecovibe’ drinking straws are PLA, and my freezer bags are BPA-free. Have I missed a lifestyle eco-glossary? Today, plastics comprise 85% of the world’s beach litter, most of which is food-related. Does greed drive prolific packaging, or is it the increased demand of a growing world? Sir David Attenborough reminded the British parliament recently that the mantra of continuing economic growth in a finite environment belongs to either an economist or a madman. You can jolly nearly obliterate plastics with the stroke of a pen said the 94-year-old broadcaster, adding, “If you can convert or get rid of plastic waste economically, there’s a fortune to be made.” In 2003, Tom Szaky launched international recycling company TerraCycle, now operating here. He believes it is more economical to manufacture from recycled than from virgin materials. Despite almost all products being ‘technically’ recyclable, he says only four are commonly accepted – clear glass, uncoated paper, certain rigid plastics and certain metals. Inventive TerraCycle accepts Gladwrap, Caffe L’Affare and Nescafé capsules and even cigarette butts, destined to become compost, park benches, pallets, or (ironically) ashtrays. It also invented chewing-gum recycling. In New Zealand, “plastic recycling is broken,” says Innocent Packaging’s general manager, Fraser Hanson. He began in 2013 in a garage, and now employs 15 staff making packaging from bagasse (a sugar byproduct), straw, paper and corn starch and Innocent composting bins sit outside 50 Auckland cafés. Hanson says our plastic production has increased twentyfold since 1964, yet just 5% of plastics are recycled effectively. My local council (Far North) has reduced its recyclable plastics list, and their Solid Waste Engineer admits, “We recycle what we have a market for.”  So, plastic 5 is off the menu for one- third of our local councils. However, jam makers Anathoth-Barkers say we import valuable plastic 5 because recyclers can’t collect enough. Processed into granules it makes low-grade items such as planters and buckets. Plastics NZ admits that “recycling is currently a minefield of confusion.” Take ‘compostable’ PLA (polylactic acid) drinking straws. Made from naturally occurring plant material, they require high-temperature composting and do not decompose in landfill or waterways. Some containers state ‘commercially compostable’ and, as of May last year, 12 facilities from Kerikeri to Timaru exist where the requisite 55-degree temperature is maintained. That’s also possible in a well-managed home compost system. Bostock Brothers packs its free-range chicken in home- compostable Grounded Packaging. Ben Grant from Grounded says the end- of-life process for packaging is poorly  understood. “Nationally the recycling stream doesn’t work; the chances of getting recycled are, more or less, none.” Composting, however, is a different story. Ben Bostock says their bioplastic packaging was developed to ensure shelf life. “We’ve had a lot of people say they don’t normally buy organic chicken because of the price, but they’re buying ours because of home-compostable packaging.” Bostocks themselves will hot-compost any packaging returned by consumers unable to compost at home, using it for fertilising hen-food crops. Sublime Coffee Roasters, frustrated with a tardy local council, developed its own hot compost system, diverting from landfill more than 5000 cups and lids a month in Nelson and Palmerston North. Nespresso also recycles its aluminium pods returned to them by consumers. For a reusable, recycled coffee cup, check the ingenious rCup from Ashortwalk Ltd in Cornwall, the idea of Dyson designer, Don Dicker, who says 500 billion disposable cups being thrown away annually, motivated him to create recycled products. Air New Zealand welcomes reusable cups onboard, and Head of Sustainability, Lisa Daniell, says they have diverted nearly 900 tonnes of flight waste from landfill since 2017. They’ve trialled edible cups which Customer Experience Manager Niki Chave home-tested, reporting, “The coffee cup will hold up, and stay crisp, much longer than it will take for you to drink your coffee.” There are more successes to smile about. Colgate has an international scheme to take back all brands of toothpaste tubes, brushes, floss containers and packaging. Its TerraCycle partnership has 2000 collection hubs from Kaitaia to Tokanui and a free- post scheme. Last year, New Zealand schools and charities received $70,000 from the scheme, along with lunch bags made from recycled toothpaste tubes. Support supermarket moves like the Food in the Nude initiative that began in New World’s Bishopdale store in Christchurch. Owner Nigel Bond says sales of some unwrapped veges increased up to 30%. Clean bread bags, bubble wrap and soft plastic packs, including foiled potato chip bags, can be recycled at The Warehouse, Huckleberry and 37 Countdown stores. They become recyclable fence posts and ducting. Graduates from the country’s top hospitality college, QRC, are charged to lead a culture of change says CEO Charlie Phillips. “Plastic packaging becomes ingrained, but it has not always been like that. We need to revert back to the future.” In the words of Ben & Jerry’s founder Jerry Greenfield, we’re “sheltered from the environmental and human impact of our everyday decisions and lifestyles.” So, let’s take more personal responsibility. Speak up and exercise the power of consumer choice. As Sir David Attenborough says, “The only way I get up in the morning is to say ‘Something’s got to be done, and I will do my best to bring that about.’” NOTE For a list of soft plastic collection points and recycling partners go to recycling.kiwi.nz.

Founded by Tom Szaky, TerraCycle is changing the way businesses handle their product waste. TerraCycle’s mission is to eliminate the idea of waste by using a new recycling process. TerraCycle operates in 21 countries with hundreds of recycling platforms that lead us closer to a functional circular economy. To date, TerraCycle has already diverted over 7 billion products from landfill globally. A Princeton University drop-out, Szaky has a passion to change the way people view waste. The idea came to him while recycling food waste at the university and turning it into fertilizer. A political refugee from Hungary, Szaky was inspired by the idea of working with capitalism, rather than against it. General Manager of TerraCycle Australia & New Zealand, Jean Bailliard, says TerraCycle repurposes products and their packaging to keep waste out of landfills and manage our Earth’s resources. “We want to get people to view waste as something useful, something we can circulate back into the economy. We need to be using it over and over again, and thus saving more of the world’s precious resources for future generations.” Bailliard says that a better question than ‘what can TerraCycle recycle?’ is ‘what can’t TerraCycle recycle?’ “Around the world, we recycle everything from complex items like cigarette butts, chewing gum, and even dirty diapers, through to simpler ones such as chip bags and cosmetic waste. We also focus on how to integrate unique waste streams back into consumer products like turning ocean plastic into shampoo bottles,” says Bailliard. Other products made from recycled products include garden beds, park benches, and playgrounds.

Partnerships

We all know what kerbside recycling looks like, but what’s the difference between weekly, government-funded recycling versus what TerraCycle does? Bailliard says it comes down to basic economics. “It simply costs more to process items that are complex and made of several different materials that are difficult to separate, than the processed material is worth. The reason why we’re able to recycle these items is down to our brand partners who sponsor the programmes, thereby filling the economic gap in the process,” says Bailliard. Colgate collaborates with TerraCycle to recycled their product waste. It is then recycled and repurposed into useful products. Last year the Colgate Community Garden Challenge encouraged New Zealand schools to collect as much oral care waste as possible. Winners from West Rolleston Primary school received a garden bed set made from recycled oral care packaging. Another one of TerraCycle’s brand partners is Nestlé. They specifically work on recycling the Nescafé Dulce Gusto capsules used in their at-home coffee machines. Nestlé New Zealand Head of Marketing, Fraser Shrimpton says their focus is to make all their packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025. Their capsule recycling partnership with TerraCycle is one of the many steps to get there. “To recycle Nescafé Dolce Gusto capsules through the program, Kiwis simply visit TerraCycle website, sign up for free and start collecting Nescafé Dolce Gusto coffee capsules in any cardboard box,” says Shrimpton. Collectors must seal their capsules in a plastic bag or ensure the capsules are dry before placing them in their collection box. When full, they log into their TerraCycle account and download a free shipping label. From there they stick the label to the box of waste and drop it at their nearest post office, free of charge. For each shipment of more than seven  kilograms of used capsules, collectors earn 2 points or $0.02 per capsule. This money goes to a school or non-profit organisation of their choice.

E-Waste – The New Kid On The Block

TerraCycle’s latest partnership with Vapo and Alt. to recycle e-cigarette waste is particularly exciting. With more electronic waste appearing within our capitalist society, a solution to this is needed more than ever. Bailliard says that e-waste is perhaps the final frontier for recyclers as it’s relatively new to them. So how do they do it? It starts with research and development of a recycling process in the U.S. This information is then passed onto third-party recycling vendors that TerraCycle work with. Bailliard says that this process allows them to have “ultimate flexibility,” meaning they can utilize any facility they require. Co-owner of Vapo and Alt. New Zealand, Ben Pryor, says it’s the first programme of its kind. “Late last year we announced that Kiwis could drop off their Vapo and Alt branded e-cigarette waste at any Vapo store for recycling. In March this year we extended the programme so vapers could send their vaping waste for free through the post.” Pryor says they don’t want to make the same mistake the tobacco industry has. “Let’s not forget that cigarette butts are the single greatest source of ocean trash. 5.7 trillion cigarettes worldwide are smoked annually. Cigarette butts are the number one man-made contaminant in our oceans,” says Pryor. Vapo and Alt will donate one dollar towards the charity Sustainable Coastlines for every kilogram of vaping equipment sent to TerraCycle.

Want To Know More?

Head to TerraCycle’s website for more information if you want to get involved as a business or an individual to start recycling your ‘out of the ordinary’ products..

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans generate over 250 million tons of trash annually, or 4 to 5 pounds per person per day. Only about 25% to 30% of it is recycled; the rest is incinerated or buried in landfills, where it can often end up polluting the environment and leaching into the soil and groundwater supply.   It’s a reality that TerraCycle finds unacceptable.   Founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, then a student at Princeton University, Trenton-based TerraCycle is a social enterprise on a mission to eliminate the idea of waste. “We pick up where municipal recyclers leave off and recycle the things they don’t, including coffee pods, cigarette butts, chip and snack wrappers, clothing, shoes, contact lenses and much more,” said TerraCycle North American Public Relations Manager Sue Kauffman. “We collect over 150 waste streams and are adding more every day.”   Different towns have their own rules for recycling, often driven by economics. “If recyclers can sell the processed waste at a profit, they’ll recycle it – if not, they’ll either incinerate it or divert it to a landfill,” she said. “Thanks to over 200 million individuals actively recycling through TerraCycle, we’ve recycled over 7.7 billion pieces of waste, diverted millions of pounds of valuable resources from landfills all over the world, and donated nearly $45 million to charity to-date.”   A Range Of Recycling Solutions   Recycling 97% of the waste it receives and composting the remainder, TerraCycle promotes the opportunity for consumers to “reuse, upcycle, and recycle” in a variety of creative ways:  

• Free Recycling Programs – Sponsored by corporate partners such as Arm & Hammer, Colgate, Gerber, Gillette, Herbal Essences, Solo, Swiffer and other well-known brands, TerraCycle’s free recycling programs enable consumers to recycle specific branded products or entire categories of products at no cost. “Simply go to our website, pick a recycling program, register and ship the targeted waste stream to us using the free shipping labels provided online; based on the weight of the shipments, recyclers earn ‘TerraCycle points’ that can be converted to cash and donated to schools, charities and nonprofits of their choice,” said Kauffman, who noted that points can yield big dividends. “Through the ‘Free Recycle Playground Challenge’ that Colgate runs in conjunction with ShopRite each year, for instance, the school that collects the most oral care waste will win a new playground constructed from the recycled plastic they sent in and valued at $50,000,” she said. In addition to being free and easy, “it’s exciting to see schools starting their own Green Teams, learning about sustainability and participating in our recycling opportunities to earn more points.” Among new items recently added to their recyclable list are the packaging associated with L.O.L. Surprise! dolls and products by Reckitt Benckiser (makers of such brands as Mucinex, Enfamil and MegaRed). “In addition, in association with Gillette, we recently added disposable razors to our list, which represents the first time that there’s been an outlet to recycle disposable razors, blade cartridges and plastic packaging in the U.S.,” Kauffman said.

 

• Zero Waste Boxes – Through this program, consumers can purchase everything from a pouch to a pallet to reuse difficult-to-recycle waste that can’t be recycled through one of TerraCycle’s free programs or through regular municipal recycling. Boxes are specific to a variety of different product categories, from alkaline batteries and light bulbs to printer cartridges, paint brushes, plastic bags, shoes, vitamin bottles and dozens more options. “Once consumers send their waste in to be recycled, it will be weighed, processed, shredded, melted into pellets and ultimately sold to companies who use it to make other things,” Kauffman said.

 

• Loop – Launched in January 2019, Loop is a groundbreaking e-commerce platform that’s reminiscent of the milkman of yesteryear. Through the exclusive program, consumers can receive the products they use every day in durable, reusable containers that were designed for Loop by partners such as Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, Nestle, PepsiCo, Coca Cola and others. When finished, consumers return the packaging for cleaning and refill, completing a no-waste loop. “While TerraCycle recycles plastic and other items to make the Earth a cleaner place, our new Loop program strives to not create waste in the first place,” Kauffman explained. “Response to this program has been so strong that we’ve already expanded it to other states beyond New York and New Jersey.”

  Offering Creative Circular Solutions   Headquartered in a refurbished facility where contents are made largely from recycled items – “my desk is an old door and office partitions are crafted from old soda bottles,” Kauffman said – TerraCycle has tapped into a growing need and is helping to make sustainability a mainstream movement. Following heightened media attention concerning the magnitude of America’s waste, as well as China’s 2018 decision to restrict imports of the megatons of trash they’d been processing/recycling for us for decades, “American consumers are definitely paying more attention to this issue than ever before,” Kauffman said. “The best way to elicit change is by voting with your dollars and buying from companies with a strong sustainable process. In the case of the companies that have partnered with TerraCycle, we’re able to work together to offer creative and efficient circular solutions to waste that don’t include the landfill.”       Nearly 20 years since its founding, TerraCycle now operates in 21 countries, has won more than 200 awards for sustainability, and was named No. 10 in Fortune’s Change the World list, out of 52 companies. For Kauffman and her 300 colleagues, working at TerraCycle is a labor of love. “We’re all extremely passionate here, creativity is so high, and new ideas are blossoming every day,” she said.   “It’s wonderful to celebrate Earth Day in April and we celebrate it for the entire month,” Kauffman concluded, “but the way we see it at TerraCycle, Earth Day should be every day.”   TerraCycle is located at 1 TerraCycle Way in Trenton and can be reached at (866) 967-6766 or by visiting www.terracycle.com.