When it’s time to change the filter, just bring the old one to London Drugs and drop it off for responsible recycling. In partnership with Terracycle, Brita filters are collected and recycled into different products or manufacturer-ready raw materials. Since the launch of the program, 10,826 Brita filters have been recycled into affordable, environmentally- friendly products.
Kroger and Walgreens have joined an
experimental new project that gives shoppers the opportunity to buy products in reusable packaging.
The two retailers will be part of the
Loop platform, a service that offers shoppers a greener alternative to recycling. It's launching as a pilot program in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, DC on Tuesday.
Several major companies have vowed to reduce packaging waste by helping
improve recycling infrastructure, using more recycled materials in their packaging
and more. But Loop's proponents argue reusable packaging is even more effective than recycling at reducing consumers' environmental impact. Even recyclable single-use packages get thrown out in areas where recycling is unavailable or confusing to consumers. And packages made with recycled goods require energy to be produced. Reusable containers just need to be cleaned and shipped.
Products sold on Loop are packaged in reusable containers.
Loop intends to make reusable packages mainstream by developing a new way to shop, featuring hundreds of well-known items (from Tide detergent to Pantene shampoo, Häagen-Dazs ice cream to Crest mouthwash).
It works as a delivery service: Participants use the products and put the empty containers in a Loop tote on their doorstep. The containers are then picked up by a delivery service, cleaned and refilled, and shipped out to consumers again. Like the milk man, Loop holds onto a deposit for the packages to ensure that they are returned.
Consumers can also pick up their products and drop off empty packages at participating retailers. That's where retailers like Kroger and Walgreens come in. For now, customers have to sign up for the pilot program to gain access to the reusable goods at participating retailers. But eventually, the program will be open to regular shoppers.
"Innovative collaborations with partners like Loop are critical to solving the complex issue of reducing single-use plastics," Lauren Brindley, Walgreens group vice president of beauty and personal care, said in a statement. "Our customers look to us to innovate so that together we can reduce waste and increase re-use."
"Urban mining. Tom Szaky and his company TerraCycle are all over it."
They presented their findings on a company called TerraCycle, which offers proper disposal of cigarettes for free. Once cigarette waste is collected, it can be shipped to them via UPS.
Next, I survey the survivors. I’m able to pardon a few of my favourites that have recently become fully recyclable thanks to deals with
TerraCycle, a U.S. company that specializes in dealing with hard-to-recycle waste. The plastic packaging for both Eos lip balms and Weleda Skin Food products can now be mailed to TerraCycle for free (you just have to sign up online for a postage-paid envelope). I can return my tube of L’Occitane en Provence hand cream and Province Apothecary toner, including the spray pumps, to their respective stores to be taken care of. And, mercifully, a few of the natural skincare brands I love come in recyclable glass bottles, so my serums are safe.
Stephanie Moses from TerraCycle, an independent organization in the U.S. that focuses on recycling “un-recyclable” items, said there isn’t a market for the materials razors are made of.
- Terra Cycle – Did you know that almost anything can be recycled if you make an effort to reuse? From the pens you find in your hotel room, to cigarette waste found on the property, to coffee pods and even the mattresses when they are done supporting your sleep – just about everything at The River Rock is recycled!
The receptacles are to be transported to TerraCycle, a Canadian subsidiary of a company based in Trenton, N.J., that specializes in handling hard-to-recycle material.
Tweed, part of Canopy Growth Corporation, has launched a nation-wide recycling program for used cannabis packaging, a first-ever in Canada. The
initiative is in partnership with TerraCycle, a Toronto-based company that gives new life to old plastics.
The Loop™ circular shopping system has officially launched its pilot program in the Mid-Atlantic region of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., and has announced Kroger Co and Walgreens, respectively the country’s largest grocery retailer and one of the largest pharmacy chains, as the founding retailers in the U.S. The news came at a media event held at the offices of The World Economic Forum in New York City May 21.
