How one company is working to eliminate the very idea of waste   Since 2001, where most of us have seen trash, Tom Szaky has seen potential. From cigarette butts to coffee capsules, Tom set out to recycle the hard-to-recycle products we use. His company, TerraCycle, offers everything from free recycling programs to industrial waste solutions. “But we can’t recycle our way out of the waste crisis,” Eric Rosen, publicist for TerraCycle said. “And [Tom] is the first to say if TerraCycle didn’t exist — or couldn’t exist — he’d be thrilled.” In other words, he would love to see a world where we produced zero waste to begin with. That’s where TerraCycle’s latest venture, Loop, comes in. “The next thing to do was to attack waste at the root cause,” Eric said. “If the economics are good, we can recycle virtually anything. But that’s not going to solve the problem.”   “The next step was to create a circular economy where there’s virtually no waste.” Loop was announced at the World Economic Forum in January 2019, proposing a new model of consumption whereby people can get their favorite home goods, cosmetics, and food products through a sustainable, circular system of pick-up and drop-off using reusable containers. It took off from there. “We immediately had thousands upon thousands of people who went to the website and were waitlisted,” Eric said. “So we knew right away that there was a clamoring for this. And we’ve continued to see that as we grow.” The company launched its pilot program that summer, beginning in Paris on May 14 and New York the following week. “We launched in a handful of states as a pilot,” Eric said. “We could not keep up with the number of requests coming in, like ‘When are you coming to our state?’ Certainly, the waste crisis, sustainability, and climate change are in the news, so people are well aware. There’s a sense now that they want to do something about it.” Loop already has a cleaning facility in Pennsylvania and a warehouse in New Jersey, which made New York a logical place to start. As the company scales, it selects cities within a 24-hour delivery range of both a cleaning facility and a warehouse, particularly for the frozen goods it provides. “We’ll add warehouses and cleaning facilities as we go, but that’s how the places were chosen,” Eric added. Loop will launch in the UK at the end of March, Toronto in June, and Japan towards the end of the year. Next will be Australia in 2021.       Customers receive their orders in a reusable tote and request a pick-up once items are empty. They’re then cleaned and refilled. Photos: Loop   The price of a Loop good is comparable to a regular one, plus a deposit for the packaging. Since it’s reusable, it becomes valuable. Take shampoo, for example. Before, you bought shampoo for its contents; once the bottle was empty, you would toss it. “In this instance, now the company owns the package and the package is an asset,” Eric said. “Customers put a deposit down on each pack. When that pack comes back, the deposit is returned to the consumer.” This deposit essentially sits in an account. You can opt to let it remain there as you continue to buy products through Loop; or, once you’re done, you can request the deposit back.   The brand owns the package, so they want that package back. This inherently makes the process a circular one, removing waste from the equation. While Loop is currently e-commerce only, “we will be in-store at some point in 2020 in the United States,” Eric explained. With retail partners like Kroger and Walgreens stateside, Carrefour in Paris and Loblaws in Canada, you might find a Loop aisle at a grocer near you. “The process will work virtually the same,” Eric said. “You’ll be able to bring your shipping tote into the store, where there will be an aisle with all the Loop products and packaging.” You shop, pay for the product, and bring it home, as you would any other pet food or ice cream pint. Then, as soon as you finish the pack, you bring it back. That store would then send it back to Loop to be cleaned, sanitized, refilled, and shipped back out to another consumer. In many ways, Loop seems like the future. But it draws on our current thinking and behavior — and a model that dates back to the 1950s. “When you finish your normal plastic shampoo, consumers are pretty accustomed at this point to dropping it in the blue bin. Now, as opposed to dropping that in that bin, you just drop it back into shipping tote.”   “We don’t want to change behavior. That becomes a much harder proposition.” Loop isn’t the first to discover the effectiveness of the pick-up/drop-off model. Remember the milkman? “We were seeing that model up until the 1950s when all of a sudden we turned to all of this disposable packaging for convenience. Obviously we’ve created so much waste that it’s no longer effective.   “The idea behind Loop is exactly that: it’s the milkman model where the brand owns the pack and we come collect it, sanitize it, and fill it again.” But instead of homogenous glass bottles, companies are investing in containers you want to show off. “One of the things we’re finding is that people appreciate and want these packs because they’re so pretty. Like the Pantene bottles: people want to leave them on a counter.” Loop has very specific specs companies need to adhere to when creating packaging. Aesthetics is “not a requirement, but it certainly is playing a role in how these are being designed.” Most importantly, they need to be durable, cleanable, and circular (by having an end-of-life solution). “It’s not necessarily material,” Eric said. “Plastic is not necessarily the demon, it’s the single-use that’s the problem. So these packs have to be durable.” “Häagen-Dazs, which has made an absolutely beautiful pack, had a whole R&D team develop it. We have designers at Loop who can help develop the packaging, but, depending on the size of the company, some are big enough to do it on their own.” Just how durable these containers are varies from company to company. “Obviously these containers are going to get banged up,” Eric said. “And it’s up to the company to determine when they want to take them out of circulation. When that time comes, the containers themselves are recyclable. They’ll be turned back into themselves by TerraCycle.” Eric said the company is working on a public-facing Life-Cycle Assessment, which will highlight the environmental benefits of these containers—transportation costs included—as opposed to single-use packaging that most often ends up in landfills. Ultimately, the dream would be to have a whole store filled with reusable product containers. “We would create an entirely circular economy,” he said. “There would be absolutely no waste. That is the ultimate goal.” TerraCycle’s next project with this goal in mind? ReDyper, a partnership in which parents send in soiled Dyper diapers to TerraCycle’s facility for composting. It was announced this week.  

Parents are putting their babies’ dirty diapers in the mailbox … for the sake of the environment.  Subscription-based baby-care company Dyper, which introduced their biodegrade bamboo diaper in 2018, has partnered with waste-management company TerraCycle to launch ReDyper, a mail-in diaper-composting service for all Dyper customers.  Just store your baby’s soiled Dyper diapers until there’s enough to fill up the provided box — specially designed per the United Nations’ hazmat standards — then download and print a mailing label from their website and ship your crap, so to speak, to TerraCycle. Then, it’s off to various centralized composting facilities across the country.   It may sound like nasty business, but the alternative is much worse, says Dyper president Bruce Miller, who called diaper waste statistics “staggering,” as more than 20 billion diapers fill landfills in the U.S. alone, each year.  “I think this has been the Holy Grail for a lot of disposable diaper companies,” Miller said.  “But no one at this point really has closed the loop” by commercializing the diaper-composting process.   Made primarily from bamboo and free of chlorine, perfumes, phthalates, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other unsustainable or potentially harmful materials, Dyper’s content manager Taylor Shearer said their diapers are “already technically compostable” — at least, for the customers who can manage the time- and space-consuming chore, or have access to  a local composting facility. Their website also advises homesteaders to avoid composting diapers filled with fecal matter, to prevent the spread of bacteria and other pathogens.  Shearer explains that the new service is aimed at “customers that live in the cities [and] large apartment buildings that don’t have that access,” as well as those who hope to process baby’s poo, too.

If you’ve ever spent much time around a baby, you know they go through a ton of diapers. And all those disposable diapers end up getting thrown away and take up a lot of space in landfills across the country. But now some parents are mailing their babies’ diapers off to be composted and it’s all to help save the planet.   Subscription-based baby care company Dyper makes a biodegradable bamboo diaper and teamed up with waste-management company TerraCycle to come up with a more eco-friendly solution than trashing used diapers. They launched ReDyper, a mail-in diaper composting service for Dyper customers. Once parents have enough soiled Dyper diapers to fill the provided box - which is specially designed per the United Nations’ hazmat standards - they print a mailing label and send them off to centralized composting facilities around the U.S. Now these Dyper diapers are “already technically compostable,” since they’re made from bamboo and don’t contain unsustainable and potentially harmful materials found in some other diapers, including chlorine, perfumes, and PVC. But since most moms and dads don’t have time, space, or access to a composting facility to handle this kind of messy stuff, the service makes it easy to be eco-friendly. These composted diapers will never be used to fertilize the food we eat, ReDyper’s compost is used for the wildflowers growing on highway medians. And if this help keep more diapers from adding to the 20-billion that end up in U.S. landfills each year, we’re all better off.

Disposable diapers, though a blessing for convenience, have been a blight on the environment; in the United States alone, an average of 20 billion disposable diapers are tossed into the trash annually, and they take about 500 years to decompose. Now parents have another option: shipping their baby’s dirty diapers off to be composted—as long as they get them from diaper subscription company Dyper.   Dyper has teamed up with TerraCycle to launch its ReDyper program, through which subscribers can send back their soiled Dyper diapers in provided bags and specially designed boxes that meet United Nations HazMat shipping standards. When the box is full, parents can download a prepaid shipping label from the TerraCycle website, ship it away, and the diapers will end up at TerraCycle distribution centers, then industrial composting facilities that TerraCycle partners with, and ultimately, be turned into compost used for things like vegetation on highway medians.   The ReDyper program is a new addition to Dyper’s subscription model, which first launched in 2018 and offers at-home delivery of bamboo diapers without chlorine, latex, alcohol, perfumes, PVC, lotions, and the chemicals tributyltin, or phthalates. They’re also free of ink, as they don’t have any patterns printed on them.   Since its start, Dyper has said its bamboo diapers can be composted at home—as long as they don’t contain any fecal matter, and you don’t use that compost for food gardens. After speaking with parents, however, Dyper realized this isn’t really feasible for all parents, especially those living in apartments with no access to compost.   With the new ReDyper program, the brand hopes to have found an easy way for people to start composting dirty diapers.  

10. CAR SEATS

This one may seem strange, but considering the heavy plastic, textiles, and metal that go into car seats, it only makes sense that (at least some parts) can and should be recycled.   How to recycle car seats:   Various states have recycling programs where you can drop off car seats to be recycled.   Walmart has also partnered with the company TerraCycle to hold car seat recycling events; Target has also hosted its own events. Both companies say they plan to continue.   The carseat manufacturer Clek has its own recycling program.   Where to recycle car seats:   You can drop off your car seat at a local donation point, but the website Recycle Your Car Seat reports that there are still very few of these in the US and Canada.   Is there a cost to recycle car seats?   May vary by location.  

9. TOOTHBRUSHES

  Before it becomes trash, consider which toothbrush you purchase. You can look for one made with materials that are recycled, or renewable (like bamboo). But even if you get a standard plastic toothbrush, these can be recycled, too.   How to recycle toothbrushes:   You can mail toothbrushes to TerraCycle, thanks to a partnership with Colgate. But the company asks for at least 5 pounds' worth (that's about 100 toothbrushes, reports Recycle Nation) per shipment, so you will need to save up your old brushes first.   Your dentist may also have their own toothbrush collection program, so it's worth asking next time you are in.   Where to recycle toothbrushes:   Your dentist's office or a local drop-off point are your best bets — or mail them in to TerraCycle with free shipping.   Is there a cost to recycle toothbrushes?   No.  

8. POTS AND PANS

 

If it is made of metal, then most cookware can be recycled. But your regular curbside pickup may not take these items.         How to recycle pots and pans:   Recycle these along with other scrap metal, which is collected locally. Importantly, you need to first remove nonstick coating, reports the website Pots and Pans.   So you might need to dig around and find a recycler that can do that for you.   Where to recycle pots and pans:   The website Earth911 has a search function for all sorts of different materials. Look up scrap metal to see where you can bring pots and pans locally, or whether your local garbage pickup will take these items. (Mine does, it turns out.)   Is there a cost to recycle pots and pans?   Some drop-off and pickup programs are free, but depending on where you live, there may be charges (or taxes).  

7. SNEAKERS

When your running shoes have completed their last mile, they can find another life as rubber track, turf fields, playground materials, and other athletic equipment.   How to recycle sneakers:   Drop them off at a location run by Soles 4 Souls, or a participating Nike store.   Where to recycle sneakers:   Both organization websites (linked above) have a tool to help you locate the closest drop-off point to you. You can also mail your shoes to Soles 4 Souls with free shipping.   Is there a cost to recycle sneakers?   No.  

6. CLOTHING (AND OTHER TEXTILES)

Donating or selling clothes are great ways to get rid of stuff you no longer wear. But items too well-loved to be worn still have use, too.   How to recycle clothing:   You can deposit old clothes and fabrics at a drop-off box or center near you.   Where to recycle clothing:   The American Textile Recycling Service has drop-off bins nationwide. You can contact them to find the one closest to your home.   Check local recycling programs and farmers' markets, too. Some of them have a regular drop-off station.   You can also mail clothes and fabrics to TerraCycle, for a price.   Is there a cost to recycle clothing?   Drop-off is free, but TerraCycle has a fee based on the size of the box of clothes you send in.  

5. EYEGLASSES

After they go out of style, or your prescription changes, bring your glasses to be recycled.   How to recycle glasses:   Bring used glasses to eyeglass stores or charities that accept them.   Where to recycle glasses:   You can bring old glasses to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, as well as glasses stores, like Lenscrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears, and BJ's, reports Pocket Sense.   Is there a cost to recycle glasses?   No.  

4. SHAVING RAZORS

You cannot put your old razors in the recycling bin, but these disposable items are made with dense materials that can be broken down and reused.   How to recycle razors:   The company TerraCycle partnered with Gillette to start a recycling program.   Where to recycle razors:   You can drop used razors at a point near you (TerraCycle has a map of locations), or ship them to TerraCycle.   Is there a cost to recycle razors?   Yes, you have to pay for shipping if you mail in the razors to TerraCycle.  

3. CDS AND DVDS

In the age of music and movie streaming, your aging CD and DVD collection is doing little more than sitting there, gathering dust and nostalgia.   When you are ready to clear them out, you can recycle them.   How to recycle CDs:   The CD Recycling Center of America takes your old CDs and DVDs, shreds them, and turns them into polycarbonate resin to make new stuff.   Where to recycle CDs:   You can mail old discs to the CD Recycling Center with free shipping (their website has a label you can print).   Is there a cost to recycle CDs?   No cost, but the CD Recycling Center asks people to make a small donation  

2. WINE CORKS

After you pop (and drain) that bottle, you can recycle the glass easily enough. But the cork can go somewhere other than the trash can, too.   First, a suggestion: There are tons of ways to upcycle corks around your home (Last Bottle has some sweet ideas). Of course, the wine will likely keep flowing after you have made all the cheese-knife handles and tiny planters you need.     Here's how to recycle the rest:   How to recycle wine corks:   Synthetic wine corks — and screw caps, if you are classy — can be recycled along with your usual household pickup, according to the website Wine Spectator.   For natural, old-school cork, however, you need to find a drop-off point, or mail them in.   Where to recycle wine corks:   The website ReCork has a tool that lets you search by zip code for a drop-off location near you.   If you prefer not to make the trek, you can also mail corks to Cork Club   Is there a cost to recycle wine corks?   No.

BICYCLES

  If you're getting a new set of wheels, don't let the old one go to waste — or worse, rust.   How to recycle bicycles:   Bike shops often have recycling programs that either use your old parts, or refurbish your bike.   If your bike is still rideable, you can bring it to a local charity and give it a second life with someone who needs it.   Where to recycle bicycles:   You may need to look at the local level here, searching your own area for drop-off points. There aren't a ton of national options.   If you live in the Washington, DC area, New York, and Illinois, the organization Bikes for the World has drop-off points.   Is there a cost to recycle bicycles?   The price of being green may vary based on where you live.

Take, make, use, dispose. For decades, this has been the standard approach to production and consumption. Companies take raw materials and transform them into products, which are purchased by consumers, who ultimately toss them out, creating waste. But as warnings about climate change and environmental degradation grow ever louder, people are starting to challenge the sustainability of this model. Many business leaders and governments — including China, Japan, and the U.K.—argue that we should ditch this linear system in favor of a so-called circular economy of take, make, use, reuse, and reuse again and again.

What’s wrong with the linear economy?

It often leads to a system that is inefficient, costly, and depletes natural resources. The mining of commodities from gold to coal can spoil ecosystems and disrupt nearby communities. Making steel from ore requires a large amount of energy, which produces Earth-warming carbon dioxide. A byproduct of the linear model is material waste, which takes up space and may include contaminants. Trash ends up in undesirable places. The so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch is only the most well-known example of global-scale plastic pollution. Yet products like steel and plastic can be reused, refurbished and recycled to capture untapped value. A totally circular economy—with no waste and no new materials at all—is likely impossible to achieve, but squeezing the maximum waste out of the system could curtail use of new resources.

Sounds like recycling. How’s it different?

The two ideas are connected, but they’re not the same. The phrase “circular economy” pops up in the work of a few resource economists dating back at least to the 1980s. Its use in recent years has come to connote an approach that’s more systemic and ambitious than recycling. For example, to maintain quality, plastic bottle makers need to blend recycled plastic with virgin material. Instead, a truly circular economy would involve no new material inputs at all, reducing emissions, waste, and eventually costs. Some industries are already coming close to this—almost all of a car can be reclaimed, for example. But some have far to go—97% of the materials used to make clothing are brand new, and 73% of these products are incinerated or put into a landfill. This isn’t a totally new idea—the slogan “make do and mend” was popularized during World War II to encourage as little waste as possible.

Is anyone skeptical?

Yes. Making a production cycle fully self-sufficient is virtually impossible. Some new input will always be necessary, and some waste will always be created. Recycling paper over and over, for example, produces paper of increasingly low quality. Also, building a circular economy can entail high upfront costs, requiring investment to redesign products and switch to recycled materials. The U.K. estimates the cost of shifting to a circular economy to be about 3% of gross domestic product. The expense can feed concerns that companies will go for quick fixes rather longer-term sustainable practices.

What is feasible?

A more circular supply chain. This can mean changing to recycled materials, extending the life-cycle of a product and improving recovery at the end of its life. New Jersey-based TerraCycle has launched the “Loop” initiative, a collaboration with household names such as Nestle to provide common products—ice-cream for example—in packaging that can be returned and refilled. There is a multinational push by General Motors, BMW, and Toyota to create an aftermarket for used electric car batteries, which can be used for chilling beer at 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan or banking solar energy in Cameroon. And New York startup Rent the Runway offers designer dress hire for events like weddings and galas, allowing clients to dodge one-wear purchases, while earning the company a $1 billion valuation.

What are governments doing?

They’re trying to push consumers and producers toward a more circular economy. The German government offers grants to design products that have a lower environmental impact or are cheap to repair. In Chile, the government said it will aim to make all plastic reusable. The Netherlands is investing $40 million in a special fund that will start financing deforestation-free agriculture, to be matched by a donation from Rabobank Group. The European Commission has a circular economy action plan, which includes transforming the way plastic products are produced and recycled. It’s also part of China’s five-year plan.

A significant number of consumers are influenced by sustainability concerns when deciding what to buy. And they’re embracing the concept of a circular economy—as long as it’s convenient. Those are some of the findings of a recent report called Learning from Consumers: How shifting demands are shaping companies’ circular economy transition from the financial services firm ING. The research, conducted by Longitude, a division of the Financial Times Group, surveyed 15,000 consumers in 11 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America during the second half of 2019. The focus was on fashion, food and electronics sectors. “A lot more people feel empowered to stop buying something because of its environmental impact,” says Anne van Riel, ING’s head of sustainable finance Americas. At the same time, however, “Many consumers might not know what a circular economy is and the broader relevance in their lives,” she says. The research defined circular economy practices as encompassing reducing the amount of resources used, recycling and reusing them in different ways. The research was done in two steps. One was determining whether sustainability questions are changing consumers’ buying habits. The next was an assessment of whether consumers are taking real circular economy-related actions, like recycling or renting clothing. For the first part, the research found that 83% of consumers believe their behaviors and purchasing choice can have a positive impact on addressing global environmental challenges. Some 59% are influenced by a product’s environmental impact when they decide what to buy. Also more consumers say environmental impact is a highly important factor in their purchasing behavior than is the brand name. And 38% have boycotted food brands because of perceived bad environmental practices. Among 18-24 year olds, it’s 47%.   Barriers But that doesn’t mean consumers are all in on circular models. In fact, the research shows that most of them are perfectly willing to take the necessary steps, as long as they’re convenient. For example, 41% think renting clothes would require a lot more effort and 36% say time is a barrier to repairing devices. Those aren’t the only barriers. There’s the problem of a lack of awareness about how to participate in circular behaviors. For example, only 21% think companies provide detailed information on the overall environmental impact of products. And, of course, also important is the matter of cost. About 54% of consumers choose low-cost fast-fashion clothing over pricier, more durable apparel. As you might expect, decision-making pertaining to environmental and circular economy concerns come up more often for consumers buying apparel and food vs. electronics. But, in any case, the bottom line, according to van Riel, is convenience and cost. “If you make it easy for people, they’ll do it,” she says. “The bigger the inconvenience, the harder it will become to act on it.” Thus, if consumers have to walk 20 blocks to return clothes, they’ll be less likely to repeat that behavior than if the apparel is picked up from their home. She points to recycling pioneer TerraCycle’s Loop initiative as a good example. Its circular shopping system packages products in refillable containers; customers put the empty receptacles in a Loop tote on their doorstep that is picked up by a delivery service, cleaned and returned. Three Types of Consumers The research also grouped consumers into three circular economy-related categories. “Circular champions” prioritize sustainability, but they need better information. They’re the folks who, say, compost at home; “Circular sympathizers” are concerned about the issue, but they’re only likely to adopt new behaviors that don’t significantly disrupt their existing lifestyles. In other words, they’ll buy second-hand clothes because they’re cheaper; and “Circular non-engagers”, which also is the largest group, are less engaged and need non-environmental incentives to change their M.O. Circular practices range from to what extent consumers are influenced by sustainability factors when buying things to whether consumers are adopting reusable food and drinks containers or buying and selling items in second-hand clothing and electronics markets. The research is the third in a series of circular economy-related reports from ING. Previous studies examined how companies are using sustainable financial strategies. That was followed by research into corporate awareness of circular economy issues. “For the third, we decided to go the other way and look at consumer awareness and if they’re making different buying decisions,” says van Riel.

In the roughly eight months since the Loop reusable packaging service has been up and running with pilot e-commerce consumers in select markets, there have been package design hiccups, retailer additions and product-line extensions. As an early adopter in Loop parent company TerraCycle’s home state of New Jersey, I’ve witnessed all of that firsthand. Now, I’m eager for the company to pull off its next planned U.S. milestone: integrating supermarket and drug store locations affiliated with The Kroger Co. and Walgreens into the business model, so customers can drop off empty containers more frequently, without having to ship back or find a UPS location to drop off the rather hefty tote used for deliveries. (Each easily can transport up to 20 or so items, depending on the assortment purchased.) If things go TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky’s way, West Coast stores from Kroger — its various brands including Dillons, Fred Meyer and Ralphs are in 35 states nationwide — will start accepting Loop container returns by mid-2020. East Coast customers will need to wait until the fall, when Walgreens plans to do the same. The idea is Loop accountholders will be able to return empty containers when and where it’s convenient to in-store bins. From there, TerraCycle will orchestrate transportation to facilities where they can be inspected, washed and sanitized prior to being refilled, Szaky said. "You can drop off the product, no matter where you bought it," Szaky told me, when we chatted about Loop’s progress late last year. Through a Loop spokesperson, Kroger and Walgreens declined to comment on their specific plans for the Loop service. Both went public with their Loop partnerships in May. TerraCycle Loop hopes to integrate in-store collection in the U.S. by the middle of 2020. Introduced in January 2019 to much fanfare at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Loop celebrated its first birthday last month, although the service only started delivering to consumers in its launch markets near Paris and New York in May. Its premise was simple: to carry only products that come in reusable, refillable bottles, jugs or cans. Those items are purchased online and delivered to the customer's doorstep via UPS. Loop is available to a "community of thousands" (TerraCycle doesn’t disclose exact numbers) in 10 U.S. states, and new consumer product brands are being added on an almost daily basis — ranging from pantry staples such as the dried chickpeas in my own cabinet to specialty nut butters to personal care items. Close to 150 unique products are available in both France and the United States, where the best-sellers include Häagen-Dazs ice cream (my favorite is the non-dairy coconut caramel blend it's testing), Tide detergent and Clorox wipes. Right now, Loop caters to customers who aren't afraid to spend a little extra on groceries or that have a craving for niche items that might not find their way onto mainstream store shelves. The prices themselves are higher than you would pay in-store for similar items, plus the deposits can add up quickly: I've only got six items at home right now, but my "active" deposit account has a balance of $41. Loop is acting as the bank for that money. Szaky told me that while the current Loop customer may skew high-end or eco-conscious, TerraCycle is seeking to create a mass-market appeal by adding products you'd find in your neighbor's pantry. The Kroger and Walgreen's relationships will be instrumental in making that happen, especially if they become active locally in every place possible. Kroger is the second-largest U.S. retailer and largest grocery supermarket company with more than 2,800 stores; Walgreens, which operates in all 50 states, had close to 9,300 locations as of August. That's an impressive physical footprint. Expansions into the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan and Australia are in the works starting in March and over the next two years in close collaboration with prominent retailers in those geographies including Tesco (UK) and Loblaw (Canada). As the service matures, more of these new markets intend to launch an integrated in-store/online version of Loop, with Japan and Australia likely to lead that charge, Szaky said.

The trouble with totes

While TerraCycle may be the primary corporate face of the Loop brand, the important role of retailers in scaling any reusable packaging model should not be downplayed. Partners like Kroger and Walgreens bring inventory and category management expertise, merchandising savvy, pricing know-how, logistics and e-commerce expertise and, of course, existing connections with everyday shoppers. The future role retailers will play in collection will be crucial, as Loop seeks to shrink the amount of time containers spend in the hands of consumers before they are returned and refilled. Right now, that period varies dramatically depending on the product category — on a monthly basis for ice cream, for example, or up to three months for shampoo. Mostly, it depends not just on how quickly a consumer uses up a given product but on whether they decide to wait until a tote is full before a return shipment. Our experience reinforces our belief that this is not just a trend that is going to come and go. One of Loop’s value propositions is that it can help brands better understand consumption habits as it reduces their dependence on single-use packaging. "In our model, we can report on repeat, refill, how long it takes, whether they take advantage of autorefill," said Heather Crawford, vice president of marketing and e-commerce at TerraCycle. Right now, however, it’s difficult to estimate how long containers sit empty in customers’ homes as they transfer items into other receptacles or as they wait to fill up a return tote — the only tote size right now is 19 inches by 16.5 inches by 16 inches. The cushiony inserts that hold the containers can be reconfigured to handle the different sizes and to accommodate the heavy cold pack that's used to transport frozen items before they melt. If there's ice cream in your order, you can only consolidate a half-dozen more items or so into the same shipment. And be careful when you're picking the tote up: An empty tote containing a cold pack weighs more than 15 pounds. Speaking from personal experience, I’ve managed to return just two batches of spent containers in the service’s iconic tote since May. That's in part because I live in a two-person household and I had a tough time finding items that I actually wanted to order — right after I signed up for Loop, my doctor prescribed a food elimination diet that bounced many of the plant-based products in the Loop inventory off my plate. But mostly, I felt guilty about the carbon emissions impact of dispatching a UPS delivery truck to pick up an almost-empty package. Ultimately, I opted for what I considered to be a more eco-friendly option: bringing my return tote to a UPS shipping location while I was out on another errand. But my experience isn’t unique and for some markets, notably Tokyo where people live in much smaller homes with far less storage space, TerraCycle is considering a smaller tote. Adding collection bins at retailers is also likely to reduce the reuse cycle, as consumers will be able to return containers far more frequently. Loop Haagen-Dazs is one of the best selling items on Loop. The shape of the pint jars are designed to withstand 100 cleaning cycles.

Nestle, Reinberger Nut Butter share early learnings

While the Loop products in the United States and France are different, the categories where shoppers are gravitating toward in Loop’s reusable containers are similar, including quick-turn grocery and pantry staples that generate the "highest volume of visible garbage," Crawford said. Loop also has helped generate interest in niche and specialty items, such as the various protein spreads sold by Reinberger Nut Butter, a small food company in the Philadelphia area that was less-than-impressed by its experience selling products through Amazon. Reinberger, which already distributed its mixed nut butter in reusable containers, changed its design to make it lighter and introduced single-nut lines unique to Loop, said Luke Rein, who manages production for the company. Its container isn’t entirely reusable — the aluminum lid needs to be handled differently because of the seal — but as sales grow, it’s addressing that issue. "Ideologically, this matches up well and is a good source of revenue," Rein said. According to Crawford, the average Loop order size is eight to 10 items (far less than what its big tote currently can handle). It’s adding brands on an almost daily basis, after they meet the company’s container design criteria. There have been some snafus with some products. For example, the initial containers for Tide's plant-based Purclean laundry detergent needed to be tweaked when the lids were found to leak, an issue that was annoying for me at home, as the detergent kept oozing down the side of the bottle onto my laundry room shelf. While the U.S. and French markets launched with about 80 products each, new regions likely will have at least 200 products at launch. In our model, we can report on repeat, refill, how long it takes, whether they take advantage of autorefill. At this time, no containers used in the U.S. or France have reached their maximum reuse potential, Crawford said, at which point they will be recycled or upcycled. That includes Nestle’s popular metal Häagen-Dazs ice cream containers, which posed a unique design challenge to the company, according to Steven Yeh, commercialization project manager for the Nestle ice cream team. The shape of the pint-ish-sized jars, designed to withstand 100 cleaning cycles, was rounded to make the ice cream easier to scoop and double-walled both for durability and to keep cold during the delivery process, Yeh said. (As already mentioned, Loop also includes a cold pack in its totes for frozen items.) It took six months to come up with the current container. Nestle’s experience with Loop so far is being used to inform its strategies and perceptions about consumer subscription models. It will test another edition of the reusable metal containers at more than 200 Häagen-Dazs ice cream boutiques across the U.S., where it hopes to allow customers to bring them back for refills, starting in New York. "Our experience reinforces our belief that this is not just a trend that is going to come and go," Yeh said. "It reinforces our commitment to a reusable container. We need to focus even more efforts on this."

Online shopping will only continue to gain momentum in the years to come, enticing consumers by offering them access to better prices, more selection and shorter shipping times. However, as the online shopping landscape becomes increasingly more congested, companies are pushed to innovate how they approach their e-commerce business, specifically focusing on how to adapt to meet the needs of shoppers around the world.   A survey by Futerra of more than 1,000 consumers in the U.S. and UK revealed that 96 percent of people feel their own actions, such as donating, recycling, or buying ethically, can make a difference. It should come as no surprise that 88 percent of these consumers are searching for, and want brands, to help them make a difference. This confirms what we already knew – brands have a key role to play in changing consumer behavior.   One major environmental concern as a result of a booming eCommerce landscape? Most obviously, an increase in the global carbon footprint due to a rise in the number of shipments made daily. Among other consequences, the use of plastic and nonrecyclable materials. In attempts to combat this, the P&G Fabric Care eCommerce Innovation Group has reimagined its more than 50-year-old detergent by designing Tide Eco-Box – a package focusing on the unique challenges and opportunities that the eCommerce environment presents, specifically focusing on the four key consumer interactions: unboxing, preparation, use and disposal.   To soften the environmental impact of shipping liquid in eCommerce, the Tide Eco-Box contains an ultra-concentrated formula that provides a lighter shipping footprint by arriving as a shipping-safe cardboard box, eliminating the need for secondary boxing or bubble wrap. It also streamlines plastic use – if everyone that bought 96 loads in a plastic bottle switched to the Tide Eco-Box, we could save 1,4000 tons of plastic annually (enough to cover 5,000 football fields).   Tide Eco-Box is also designed to efficiently go from P&G, to the user’s home, to the recycler to be formed and filled again, all without the extra packaging and bubble wrap of a typical bottle. The design ultimately requires 25 percent fewer delivery trucks for e-retailers to deliver the same number of loads.   Additional Tide Eco-Box features include:   §  Tide’s Eco-box revolutionary packaging is created with 60 percent less plastic and 30 percent less water; §  The concentrated Tide detergent formula is made with 100 percent wind power electricity and designed to clean in energy-saving cold water cycles; §  Tide Eco-box is 100 percent recyclable through a partnership with Terra-Cycle; §  The Eco-Box contains an ultra-compacted formula, which cleans the same number of loads with 30 percent less water weight; §  Because Tide Eco-Box contains less water, the Eco-Box weighs less than today’s bottle with an equivalent number of loads (*vs Tide Original liquid laundry detergent in a 150oz. bottle); §  Shipping-safe packaging helps prevent laundry detergent liquid leaks on the way to consumer homes and provides a lighter shipping footprint by eliminating layers of packaging; and §  No-Drip twist tap and stand to raise the box and allow for clean, easy detergent dispensing and a ramp inside the box to help you use every drop of detergent.   As we know, brands have an opportunity to mold and shape consumer behavior. Tide Eco-Box is an example of a breakthrough in eCommerce design that should be used to inspire and encourage other companies.

Cool, CA – NorCalUltras is excited to announce its continuing sponsorship with GU Energy Labs for the 12^th year. This long-time partnership has supported the Way too Cool 50K and American River 50 Mile Endurance Run, which are two of the most premier endurance events in the U.S.   “We are thrilled to partner with the leader in race nutrition,” said NorCalUltras Race Director, Julie Fingar. “We believe in providing the best race fuel for our runners, which is why we provide GU gels and ROCTANE Energy Drink at all aid stations for both WTC50K and AR50.”   On Saturday, March 7, 2020, more than 800 ultra runners will travel from around the globe to race in the 31^st Annual The Way Too Cool 50K Endurance Run (WTC50K). The 50K race is known as one of the most popular trail and ultra-running endurance events in the U.S. Runners compete at Olympic levels to beat their personal and race record course times.   “GU Energy Labs is proud to be long time supporters of Way Tool Cool and American River 50,” said GU Energy Labs Experiential Marketing Manager, Allison Foster. “Still family owned and located in Berkeley, CA, we are thrilled to say we have been fueling racers for over 25 years!”   This year, GU Energy Labs is adding their TerraCycle Pledge to the partnership with WTC50K and AR50. GU works with TerraCycle to convert nutrition wrappers from all brands into tools, park benches, and more. Both races have taken GU’s TerraCycle pledge to work to keep the race trails pristine.   “Together we will collect and ship all sports nutrition wrappers from on course to TerraCycle,” said Foster.   For more information about NorCalUltras visit www.norcalultras.com, and learn more about GU Energy Labs visit www.guenergy.com.   ABOUT NORCALULTRAS NorCalUltras is Northern California’s premiere ultrarunning event management company. NorCalUltras trail races are renowned for providing runners with first class experience from start to finish. Each endurance race features excellent, well-marked courses, a professionally organized race team, top of the line swag and remarkable post-race festivities. For more information visit www.norcalultras.com.   ABOUT GU ENERGY LABS GU Energy Labs strives to help athletes to reach their highest potential with products that deliver the right nutrients, in the right amounts, at the right time. Developed in collaboration with Olympians and age groupers alike, the GU nutrition matrix of Hydration, Energy and Recovery products has helped countless athletes achieve their dreams since its inception in 1993. Headquartered in Berkeley, GU Energy Labs produces all of its Energy Gels onsite with just the right blend of heart and science. Recommit to becoming your best athletic self, learn more about GU products, and discover how nutrition planning can help you get there at www.guenergy.com.