With Earth Day just one month away, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about ways to go green in your everyday life. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with all the different actions you can take to go green, so start small! This means making changes to your daily routine and home life. Once you have accomplished eco changes in your household, you can move toward more significant changes. Listed below are 7 easy ways you can be more planet-friendly at home. 1. Purchase Eco-Friendly Personal Care Products One of the best starting points when moving towards an more eco-friendly lifestyle is with your personal care products. Look for products from brands that use recyclable packaging, non-toxic ingredients, and practice sustainability. Tom’s of Maine is one of my favorite brands when it comes to personal care products for my family. Sustainability is a priority in their transparent business practices as they take several environmentally friendly production measures. All of their toothpaste cartons are made of post-consumer recycled paperboard, waste ink is utilized to print corrugated cases, vegetable based inks are used on professionally printed materials and packaging, and they are powered through 100% renewable wind energy. Additionally, their products are recyclable through the TerraCycle program.

Dive Brief:

• TerraCycle is partnering with existing beach cleanup programs to collect 500 to 1,000 tons of plastic littler from around the world over the next year, as reported by Plastics News.
• Following a project with Suez that collected approximately 15 tons in Europe — leading to the creation of shampoo bottles from Procter & Gamble using the material — TerraCycle is now expanding its efforts to North America and Asia.
• Funding collection can be tough in some countries so a partner from DSM Environmental Services Inc. recently proposed a 1-cent fee for each pound of resin created to help subsidize these efforts.

Dive Insight: The world's marine plastic pollution problem has been well-documented by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the Ocean Conservancy and many others. Ambitious ideas such as The Ocean Cleanup are currently being developed to tackle the issue, but it is far larger than any one organization can manage. Helping to coordinate existing beach cleanup efforts is a positive step, though helping to create global market demand for the recovered plastic material may be even more beneficial. While more companies are showing interest in converting the material to energy or other resources, its viability in post-consumer packaging still hasn't been widely proven. Multiple brands have received attention for making new products from marine plastic, but the costs involved with collecting and cleaning it still means virgin material is cheaper. A coordinated global campaign that can demonstrate the path from cleaning beaches to putting new products on store shelves might help drive consumer interest in paying a little more for packaging made from this content. The implementation of a small fee to aid in the collection may not be popular among all involved, though some form of multinational solution could be useful. As seen on beaches from Hong Kong to Alaska to the Great Lakes marine plastic knows no boundaries and has become a universal problem.  

“Drink more water” is a prescription that for too many people around the world is easier said than done. As it stands, one in ten people (663 million people - twice the population of the United States) are currently living without access to safe water. Cited by the World Economic Forum as being the #1 global risk to society in terms of devastation and impact, this water crisis stands in the way of the health, safety and economic empowerment of people in both developing countries and  first world nations.     Access to clean water is a basic human right, yet millions of people are still walking miles to collect from their nearest water source, sharing unprotected wells with livestock, and paying 5 to 10 times more for water than their higher-income counterparts. Being 65 percent water, we can do so much better.   Yesterday March 22 was World Water Day, a global initiative started by the United Nations to recognize the importance of water conservation and improving access to freshwater around the globe. World Water Day may be one day out of the year, but taking the time to reflect on the delicacy of our limited natural resources and the impact we have on the ecosystems around us have the chance to make long-lasting impacts that we can carry forward.   Legislative Action   It is important to remember that access to safe drinking water is as much a domestic issue as it is an international one.  In New Jersey, where TerraCycle is based, nearly two dozen school districts recently reported elevated levels of lead in their water per the results of state mandated testing ordered for school districts, charter schools and early-learning centers last summer. This prompted the proposal of a bill that would require all public water systems to invest in its infrastructures according to industry best practices and submit a report to the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection on an annual basis.   Improving drinking water through legislation mandates the allocation of resources necessary to foster accountability and progress reporting; like all matters of infrastructure, limitations come down to be a matter of economics. While lobbyists and special interest groups often spearhead the movement of lawmaking, it is citizen testimony that voices true public interest. Follow and track the progress of bills, attend committee hearings and contact your legislators to speak up for action in your area.   Corporate Action   Companies and major brands are taking responsibility for the impacts their products and packaging have on the sustainability of our water sources. Brita, the water filtration brand, for example, is solving for their difficult-to-recycle water filters, faucet mounts, and other Brita product and packaging waste through the free, national Brita Recycling Program. Recycling prevents these waste streams from ending up in waterways and landfills, and reduces demand for virgin raw materials that often require significant quantities of water to extract from the Earth. Further, Brita filters offset the demand for plastic bottles (300 for every Brita filter).   Brita’s TerraCycle program also allows consumers to raise money for charities dedicated to improving access to safe water at home and abroad. For every unit of waste collected for recycling, participants earn points that may be redeemed as cash donations to nonprofits like Charity: Water, a nonprofit that provides clean drinking water to families in developing countries.

Personal care product company Garnier is working with TerraCycle and a nonprofit group to help consumers keep plastic out of the trash stream. The company also noted that it boosted the amount of recycled content in its packaging starting this year. Garnier, a hair and skin care products brand owned by L’Oreal, teamed up with nonprofit organization DoSomething.org for a campaign called “Rinse, Recycle, Repeat,” according to a press release. After registering online, participants accumulate 10 pounds of empty containers, at which point they can print out a label for free shipping to New Jersey-based TerraCycle, which recycles the materials. The effort also includes a competition, which kicks off April 1 (no joke), in which dozens of college campuses will compete to collect the most empty containers. The winner will receive items for a garden from Garnier and TerraCycle. The campaign is part of the large Garnier Beauty Recycling Program, which, since its 2011 inception, has diverted more than 8 million containers from landfill. Garnier also noted that it boosted the post-consumer recycled plastic content in its Garnier Fructis products from 30 percent to 50 percent as of January 2017.

New Orleans — Organizers of a beach plastics recovery campaign expect to greatly expand collection efforts in the coming months to locations around the world. Recycling company TerraCycle Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co. grabbed headlines earlier this year with a program that captured ocean-destined plastic for use in shampoo bottles being sold in France this year. Now comes word from TerraCycle that this is only the beginning. "This has become a long-term plan for TerraCycle and our partners, even though it's relatively new," said Brett Stevens, vice president of material sales and procurement at the recycling company. The initial project collected about 15 tons of material in Europe, and Stevens said plans are to expand collection efforts to locations such as North America and Asia and significantly increase the amount of plastics captured from the environment. "The collection goals we've set forth in total approach I would say probably 500 to 1,000 tons coming off beaches over the next 12 months. It is very much not a fad. I think that we're investing the staff and resources and building our programs with our partners, making this a long-lasting impact," he said. TerraCycle will work with existing beach cleanup programs to divert collected plastics away from landfill disposal, Stevens said during the Plastics Recycling 2017 conference in New Orleans. "What we have to do is layer our collection efforts today on top of everyone who is already doing beach cleanups. If you are any organization of any size that's doing beach cleanup, we want the plastic from your beach cleanup. We're already engaging them. We have a team that's reaching out in every market," Stevens said. Ted Siegler, a partner with DSM Environmental Services Inc., looks at the ocean plastics issue from an economics perspective. He said current estimates indicated that some 8 million tons of plastics enter the world's oceans every year. That's the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic dumping its load into the ocean every minute of every day throughout the year. Siegler indicated that there's basically not enough money available in developing countries to deal with the waste management issues that lead to litter that ultimately ends up in the oceans. So he's calling for the plastics industry to develop a funding mechanism on its own to help pay for proper management of the material. "The problem is the collection infrastructure simply doesn't exist in most of those developing countries. And that's a real problem. Because if the collection infrastructure doesn't exist for solid waste, then we're not going to be able to solve the problem," he said. He suggests a fee of 1 cent per pound of resin produced to help fund management of the issue. "You would begin to stem the discharge of plastic to the environment," he said. "I think it's a lot less costly to do that than to assume someone else is going to solve the problem." Siegler pointed to a program developed by the Ag Container Recycling Council to voluntarily fund recycling of crop protection, animal health and pest control product containers as an example of how a larger ocean plastics initiative could work. "I'm suggesting that it's something we ought to be looking at on a broader scale to solve this problem," he said. Stevens said there is no shortage of consumer packaged goods companies looking to use beach plastics. "I don't see any issue at all on the demand side. We've gotten a lot of inquiries. Not just from CPG companies, but also from packaging companies for those CPG companies," he said. "Everybody loves the story. They'd love to be able to help and use this material in their finished products." Make no mistake, however, that using beach plastics is much more expensive than virgin resin or even traditional recycled resin. That's why a company has to leverage the story behind use of beach plastics to gain interest to help drive sales. "In order for it to make sense economically, you as a brand need to be able to cover that expenditure somewhere else. So if you are getting incremental shelf space, it makes it easier to cover that. If you are just some generic company that's not going to leverage that it's beach plastic, it makes it hard to swallow when it's more expensive than virgin plastic," Stevens said. TerraCycle, he said, is working to expand the program as quickly as possible. "Our goal is to try to get this to critical mass as soon as we can and then keep it there. Some people will say there's only so much plastic out there. I say there's too much plastic out there," Stevens said. "We will find those hotspots around the globe aside from developed areas like the U.S. and Western Europe. There will be areas that are collecting a hundred or two hundred or five hundred times as much plastic as we're seeing in developed markets. And it's just a matter of putting our finger on it and drawing that volume into our possession," he said. The American Chemistry Council has been involved in a variety of efforts to bring attention to the issue over time, said Stewart Harris, director of marine and environmental stewardship at the trade group. "In our view, plastics and other litter in the environment is unacceptable," he said. While the use of plastics creates "significant benefits to society," he said, "the benefits are lost if the plastics end up in our natural environment. "Waste management," Harris said, "is the key to preventing marine debris."

Millard Elementary School in Fremont is kicking off the new year with good habits and keeping snack pouches out of landfills. Through a free, national recycling program in partnership with TerraCycle, sponsored by Entenmann's Little Bites¨, Millard Elementary School has helped the nationwide collection reach the milestone of 2 million snack pouches diverted from the waste stream. Along with keeping the pouches out of landfills, collectors earn points that can be redeemed for cash donations to the non-profit or school of the collector's choice. Through the efforts of collectors like Millard Elementary School, donations have just passed $35,000.   "The TerraCycle recycling program was started by Mrs. Ellen Ng at Millard, who single handedly supervised and recycled items through TerraCycle creating awareness and trying to educate the children about the importance of recycling," said Millard resident Subin Varghese. "When my older child was in kindergarten, I became interested in the program and myself and two other moms (Kyoko Ehling and Fumiko Moon) joined forces with Ellen."   TerraCycle is an international recycling company that finds innovative solutions for materials not typically accepted at municipal recycling facilities. Through free recycling programs, participants collect waste and ship using a pre-paid shipping label to TerraCycle for processing. TerraCycle recycles the waste into plastic that can be used for products such as park benches, recycling bins and playgrounds.   Varghese continued, "The TerraCycle program was successful because we had the support of our principal and we sent reminders to our school community on what to collect via our school newsletter. It definitely was a messy job, and time consuming. However, we are happy to do it because we are educating our kids about recycling and taking care of the environment."   The Entenmann's Little Bites Pouch Recycling Program is open to any individual, school or organization interested in reducing local landfill waste. To learn more about TerraCycle, please visit www.terracycle.com or www.littlebites.com.

Water filters can reduce plastic bottle use, but also be tricky to dispose of. Thankfully, the manufacturer may already offer an easy solution.   Dear Recyclebank: Can water filters be recycled? I called my local sanitation department, and they were baffled and promised to get back to me. The specific brand name I have is Brita. They are plastic and filled with black sand. –Ila Dear Ila: With niche products such as at-home water filters, it’s a good idea to check with the manufacturer to see if they have a mail-in program you can take advantage of. As it turns out, Brita has partnered with TerraCycle to take back used Brita products for recycling. This program is free to consumers who sign up, and includes a prepaid shipping label to cover your shipping costs. You can also gain Terracycle points for your efforts, which can be redeemed for charitable gifts or product bundles. Water filters aren’t the only items accepted; packaging, pitchers, and even reusable water bottles can be sent as well. The items are processed and turned into all sorts of new products, from gardening equipment to outdoor furniture. You can find out more about the program on the Brita and TerraCycle websites. Brita isn’t the only brand that has adopted this solution. PUR and Everpure have also partnered with Terracycle.

Approximately 55 percent of parents throw away toys to reduce clutter in their homes, according to a study by natural and sustainable product manufacturer Tom’s of Maine. In an effort to keep those toys from ending up in landfills, Tom’s of Maine has partnered with N.J.-based TerraCycle to collect, donate and recycle toys from households across the U.S. during Earth Month.   “For Earth Month 2017, we’ll be focusing on this tangible issue of broken toys and, to do that, we are partnering with TerraCycle for the national Less Waste Challenge toy recycling program,” Susan Dewhirst, Tom’s of Maine public relations communications manager, says in a statement. “We ran a similar toy recycling program in 2015, and due to high demand, we ran out of boxes in just 72 hours. This year, we are providing participants with downloadable shipping labels so that more toys can be recycled. We hope to divert more than 5,000 pounds of broken toys from landfill during Earth Month 2017.”   The toys that are collected through the program go through an extensive sorting process. If the toys are unable to be donated to charities like The Salvation Army or Goodwill due to missing pieces, malfunction or other reasons, they are manually sorted and processed for recycling in TerraCycle’s facility.   “To start the recycling process, we manually remove all of the e-waste and more hazardous items like batteries and the circuit board from the electronic toys,” says TerraCycle Director of Process and Product Development Rick Zultner. “For toys that don’t have an electronic component, we break them down by polymer type and separate out the metals, plastics and other materials. From there, the materials are placed in their designated waste streams for proper recycling.”   One of the biggest challenges TerraCycle faces with recycling the toys and their materials is the variety of items that are sent to its facility. Because of the different shapes and materials of each toy, the recycling process requires a lot of manual work, which can be timely. But according to Zultner, creating partnerships with companies like Tom’s of Maine makes the process easier because they can help TerraCycle overcome the challenges that pop up during the recycling process.   “There’s a different process for how we recycle things like board games and electronic waste than action figures or dolls,” TerraCycle Founder Tom Szaky said in a statement. “There’s a real complex solution behind the scenes, but the good news is that everything is 100 percent recycled into new materials. This creates two points of value from the environmental point of view: it eliminates toys from ending up in the waste stream and it recycles and reuses all of the valuable materials that make up these toys—from the metals that make up electronic toys to the plastics that make up plastic toys to the fibers that make up the dress of a doll.”   While majority of the toys created in the world today are able to be recycled despite some challenges, the demand for more electronic and interactive toys could present more recycling challenges in the future.   “I think the complexity of toys is increasing in terms of the parts that go in them, the motions they make and the technical abilities of the toy manufacturers themselves,” says Zultner. “By increasing the electronic capabilities and the enjoyment of the toys, manufacturers are making them more difficult to recycle. As long as the manufacturers don’t add too many different polymers to the toys of the future, I think we will still be able to separate and recycle materials.”

Garnier hair care has partnered with dosomething.org, a campaign-based website to connect people who want to see positive change in the world. This specific campaign — Rinse, Recycle, Repeat — has the goal to make positive impact on the environment by keeping 10 million bathroom empties out of landfills by the end of 2017. In order to fulfill this goal, Garnier has set out to make the concept of recycling bathroom products simple. Nearly half of Americans don’t know how to dispose of shampoo and conditioner bottles properly. Gearing this campaign specifically towards college-aged women, Garnier is hoping to change that with six easy steps. How to get involved:  1.       Sign-up for Rinse, Recycle, Repeat on dosomething.org/rinse and download the campaign e-toolkit, with info from Garnier & TerraCycle 2.       Decorate a bathroom recycling bin 3.       Print branded bin sign and materials from the e-tool kit 4.       Fill the bin with #empties 5.       Upload a photo of the bin to the Prove It section on the dosomething.org/rinse. You can also submit your photo by texting RINSE to 38383.  6.       Participants will be emailed a one-click shipping label; once their recycling bin is full, ship it to TerraCycle.

Garnier USA is teaming up with DoSomething.org and TerraCycle to get the young women of America to change their bathroom behavior and increase recycling of the millions of beauty and personal-care products bottles that wind up in landfills each year. The “Rinse, Recycle, Repeat” campaign stars YouTube star Remi Cruz in a PSA, and aims to turn 10 million empties into something more useful  The campaign is part of a larger repositioning of Garnier’s flagship Fructis brand, says Ali Goldstein, SVP/marketing. “We haven’t done a massive renovation of this brand since it was introduced in 2003, and young women have changed a lot since then.” She tells Marketing Daily that the company pepped up the brand’s formulation, adding super fruits and citrus proteins, for example. It has redesigned the shape of packaging, and started a new ad campaign from Publicis. But the relaunch “also includes a change in the packaging itself, which is now made from 50% post-recycled materials, up from 30%.” And it’s added a smart label, which lets users scan a QR code for in-depth information about the product.  She says younger Millennials and Gen Zers are, as most market researchers agree, more concerned about sustainability in the products they buy. “But because our products have always been based on natural ingredients, it’s especially embedded in our DNA.” That said, there are still significant obstacles to bathroom-based recycling, she says. So while the company has partnered with TerraCycle on recycling efforts since 2011, it wanted to step up the effort by working with DoSomething.org, which includes more than 5.5 million young activists. Overall, about half of Americans don’t recycle beauty and personal care product packaging. “While people have bigger kitchens where they can set up multiple bins, most of us have small bathrooms. And beauty products are made from so many different materials—it can be very confusing.” The DoSomething.org challenge asks young people on college campuses to make bins for bathrooms and start collecting. Once they have 10 pounds of empties, Garnier funds shipping to TerraCycle, which turns them into materials for playgrounds and gardens. The winner of the contest, who is asked to promote it on social media using an #empties hashtag, gets a $5,000 scholarship, as well as the chance to choose the location of one of the three Green Gardens Garnier intends to build with the TerraCycle materials this year. (It has already built such gardens in New York, Detroit, and New Orleans, and is planning to build three more this year, including one in partnership with Kroger, in Cincinnati.)