Goods and services evolve to meet the needs of the modern consumer, but one thing that we always need (being 65% liquids, and all) are beverages to stay hydrated. Packaging technologies have long made big business out of bottling liquids for a thirsty populace. Today, the beverage industry is long expanded beyond the simple bottled milk, soda and wine of yore to bring to market electrolyte water, craft beer, cartoned coconut waters and instant vitamin lemonade…the list goes on.   Our thirst for new and exciting things in the consumer beverage industry has stoked the innovation of both the products themselves, and their packaging. It seems that the more we innovate, the less packaging material there is, the result of a product packaging trend called “lightweighting.”   A (Quick) History of Beverage Packaging   Before the ubiquity of home refrigerators, milk (and other items like eggs, butter and cream) would spoil if not refreshed in small amounts and with frequency. Long replenished by delivery service people in the jugs or other durable, reusable containers provided by customers, these products would eventually be delivered in reusable glass bottles provided by milk distributors that customers would then wash and leave out on their doorstep once empty.   Lighter and more portable than a thick, glass bottle, commercial metal cans used to store and preserve food began production early as the 1800s, but introduction of the beer can in 1935 got the ball rolling in terms of a viable way to mass package and distribute beverages. Initially either “cone topped” or featuring flat ends that required a "church key" to open (many of today’s cans are still opened this way), the invention of the pull-tab in 1959 revolutionized the metal can as a light, convenient vessel for beverages with high function and recyclability.   The use of plastic to bottle beverages went from being an expensive technology into an affordable, economically viable practice when high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was introduced in the early 1960s. Compared to glass bottles, plastic’s lightweight nature, relatively low production and transportation costs and resistance to breakage made them popular with manufacturers and customers.  Today, the food and beverage industry has almost completely replaced glass bottles with plastic bottles.   While all of this was happening, the concept of carton-based packaging offered a lighter, paper-centric alternative to glass, metal and plastic packaging that continues to develop today. Around the turn of the century, the patent of the first “paper bottle” called the "Pure-Pak" featured a folding paper box for holding milk that could be glued and sealed at a dairy farm for distribution. Since, carton technologies have evolved to feature various combinations of plastic, metal and paper, moisture barriers, and/or rigid plastic closures and fitments for function and convenience. Today, one of the most extreme examples of “lightweighted” packaging is a small, thin, flexible plastic pouch-like item called a sachet. Single-use sachets are very inexpensive to make, which brings down cost for consumers. These items also fall outside the scope of recyclability due to their small size, and are prone to end up in oceans and waterways. The Problem with “Lightweighting” Many of today’s beverage packaging innovations are considered more convenient and more affordable for the consumer, due to their using less natural resources to produce. They are also often marketed as making less of an environmental impact, because they take up less volume. However, simply put, today’s most recognizable “innovations” in beverage products (i.e. juice pouches, aseptic juice and water cartons, instant drink power sachets) are difficult to recycle and considered “disposable,” tracked for landfill and the inevitable pollution of our natural ecosystems. This is because they are: 1) multi-compositional - made from a combination of different types of plastic, paper, and/or metal 2) too small to be captured by municipal recycling facilities.  The “cool,” innovative fitments that give your “lightweighted” items high functionality (i.e. straws, caps, spoons, etc.) are also not recyclable through curbside collections due to their small size. Message in a Bottle: Where do we go? It seems that we have come a long way from getting our milk delivered to our doorstep in glass bottles. The fact is, we can do well to look to the past to create more sustainable systems of consumption. Try to steer clear of plastic bottles; although plastic is readily recyclable in many municipalities, there is declining market for it on the backend. Opting for a reusable water or beverage bottle will help you cut down on some of your plastic consumption, as well as keep you hydrated all day. Bigger isn’t always better, but when it comes to product packaging, namely in the beverage industry, looking to the history of what has long worked to sustain consumers (like you!) in the past can help us tap into what it is we really want out of our products.

Personal care and cosmetics companies are increasingly focusing on recyclable and sustainable packaging, as evidenced by recent moves among major players Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Lush Cosmetics. In January Unilever pledged 100 percent of its plastic packaging will be fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. The same month Procter & Gamble, in partnership with recycling and environmental management companies TerraCycle and Suez, developed the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle made from up to 25 percent recycled beach plastic. And just this week Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics’ packaging for creams and lotions, the Lush Black Pot, was recognized as the first US Food and Drug Administration rigid packaging application for cosmetics use made from recycled polypropylene (PP), Recycling Today reports

Circular economy and sustainable materials management (SMM) are buzzwords that have gained popularity recently; but, as one speaker at Plastics Recycling 2017 said, both concepts have the same goal: creating a reliable supply chain that incorporates recyclables. Nina Goodrich of GreenBlue and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), Charlottesville, Virginia, said SMM and the circular economy, two approaches to using and reusing materials more productively over their lives, had more similarities than differences. She added that both approaches are concerned with creating a “reliable supply chain from waste.” Goodrich and the other speakers during the session stressed that this would need to be a collaborative process if it was going to be successful. Stephen Sikra, who is responsible for the development of people, packages and processes at Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G), Cincinnati, said his company’s goals are to use 20 percent less material in its packaging and to double its use of recycled resin in packaging. “We want your PCR (postconsumer recycled resin),” he told attendees. Sikra added the P&G recognizes that it has a role to play in recycling by designing packaging for recycling, inspiring consumers to recycle, advancing recycling infrastructure and creating demand for PCR. When it comes to investing in recycling infrastructure, the company is working with the Closed Loop Fund and The Recycling Partnership, he said. Other recycling-related collaborations P&G is involved in include the How2Recycle Label, Materials Recovery for the Future and TerraCycle. P&G funds recycling programs managed by TerraCycle for packaging that cannot be recycled via curbside programs, Skira said. “TerraCycle is a bridging program until curbside recycling is available for packages that offer better overall sustainability but may not be recyclable at the curbside.” One of collaborations between P&G and TerraCycle will use plastics collected at beaches to produce the bottles for Head & Shoulders. The bottles will be made from up to 25 percent recycled beach plastic. P&G, in partnership with TerraCycle and Suez Environnement, based in Paris, will begin the recycling program in France by the middle of this year, producing a limited-edition shampoo bottle. The shampoo will be sold through the retailer Carrefour.  

This Saturday, the Balboa Village Merchants Association is hosting a neighborhood cleanup along Balboa Street from 32nd through 38th Ave. The event, titled “Balboa Village Cigarette Butt Cleanup“, targets the littering of cigarette butts along the corridor. To participate in Saturday’s Balboa Village Cigarette Butt Cleanup, meet at the Richmond District Neighborhood Center (741 30th Avenue) at 10:30am. All cleanup materials and supplies will be provided. In addition to cleaning up butts, the group is also considering the installation of ashcans along the streets that encourage smokers to dispose of their cigarettes properly. Surfrider, a local environmental group, provides the ashcans as part of their Hold on to Your Butt campaign. The campaign allows businesses and organizations to sponsor ashcans, which are them personalized for the community before they’re installed for use. According to Surfrider, an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered every year. The filters within the cigarette butt are a nasty lot, and can leach nicotine, arsenic, formaldehyde, and heavy metals like lead and cadmium into water and soil, threatening water quality, marine and terrestrial life, and seafood safety. Surfrider also encourages recycling of the collected butts from ashcans through the TerraCycle program, offering organizations the chance to accrue LEED points and make donations to the charitable foundation of their choice.

Since 2008, the Council for Responsible Sport has certified over 100 sporting events within four levels. Ironman, a Wanda Sports Holding Co., and The Council for Responsible Sport announced today that, in collaboration with Waste Management, Ironman has earned the highest possible level of certification—Evergreen—recognizing the successful implementation of socially and environmentally responsible practices at the 2016 Ironman Boulder triathlon. The event earned credits across all five categories of standards including planning and communications, procurement, resource management, access and equity as well as community legacy. “The Council applauds Ironman on the achievement of Evergreen certification for 2016 Ironman Boulder,” Shelley Villalobos, managing director of the Council for Responsible Sport, said in a statement. “Staging events in many places poses a challenge for genuine local cooperation, but Ironman has shown itself to be a willing partner in working to leave a positive impact on the Boulder community and steward borrowed venues as if they were home.” Since 2008, the Council for Responsible Sport has certified over 100 sporting events within four levels - Certified, Silver, Gold, and Evergreen. Ironman Boulder is amongst only nine events to receive the highest (Evergreen) status, and is also the only triathlon to achieve this level of certification. “Achieving this certification is the result of a strong and strategic partnership with the team at Waste Management,” said Cameron O’Connell, Senior Director of Sales for Ironman. “With their guidance, we have been able to implement sustainable standards across our event series. Our success with Ironman Boulder can now serve as a best-practices example for our company and for race organizers everywhere.” Ironman worked with Waste Management, first, by capturing current environmental initiatives and then by identifying opportunities for improvement and innovation with a focus on Ironman Boulder. This led to green initiatives that have now been rolled out across the North American race series, such as utilizing compostable cups at all aid stations and donating leftover nutrition to local food pantries and shelters. ”Waste Management is proud to support Ironman on a wide variety of sustainable event programs on its journey to achieve the highest level of certification from the Council for Responsible Sport for the Boulder race,” said Lee Spivak, senior associate with Waste Management’s sustainability services group. “We are excited to continue this relationship and help Ironman grow its sustainability initiatives across all five categories of standards. It was also great for our team to utilize our sustainable event management expertise to help another major event achieve council certification.” Some of its environmental accomplishments included:

• Collected bike inner tubes and tires for reuse through TerraCycle.
• Reduced waste generation by reusing fencing, flags, finish line materials, tents, signs, inflatable arches and the Ironman Village truss from previous Ironman events.
• Collected 64 carbon dioxide canisters from event activities to ensure they were reused instead of ending up in the landfill.
• Provided a free shuttle service to and from major venues; Ironman shuttled close to 10,000 people between locations, reducing about 3,000 vehicle trips in each direction.
• Reduced the material sent to landfill by asking all vendors to sign a participation agreement so they only use materials for the event that were locally recyclable, compostable or reusable.

A new playground will soon come to Fourteenth Avenue School in Newark, and it will be made entirely of recycled products, some of which were sourced from the students’ own recycling efforts.   In an announcement event earlier this week, Neil Greenstein, owner and operator of ShopRite of Newark, joined representatives from Colgate and Trenton-based recycling and waste management company Terracycle, Fourteenth Avenue School teachers and the school’s principal, Alyson Barillari, to celebrate both the program and the new playground it will yield.   Neil Greenstein, owner and operator of the ShopRite of Newark, talks about the playground ShopRite and Colgate will donate to the Fourteenth Avenue School in Newark. Image courtesy BML Public Relations Neil Greenstein, owner and operator of the ShopRite of Newark, talks about the playground ShopRite and Colgate will donate to the Fourteenth Avenue School in Newark. Image courtesy BML Public Relations Shoprite and Colgate are joining forces to donate the playground. Via Colgate’s Oral Care Recycling Program, a collaboration between Colgate and Terracycle, students are being encouraged to learn sustainable habits by recycling old toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and floss containers. The playground, expected to be unveiled in April, will not only be a facilities upgrade for the students to enjoy, but will also demonstrate how recycling can manifest in large-scale products they can actually use. Terracycle, a private company founded in 2001, works with brands to create recycling and education programs and curricula around the country, and has executed the playground program with Colgate for other schools through its Recycled Playground Challenge.

IRONMAN and the Council for Responsible Sport have announced that, in collaboration with Waste Management (NYSE:WM), IRONMAN has earned the highest possible level of certification — Evergreen — ‘recognizing the successful implementation of socially and environmentally responsible practices at the 2016 IRONMAN Boulder triathlon’. The event earned credits across all five categories of standards including planning and communications, procurement, resource management, access and equity as well as community legacy. “The Council applauds IRONMAN on the achievement of Evergreen certification for 2016 IRONMAN Boulder,” said Shelley Villalobos, Managing Director of the Council for Responsible Sport. “Staging events in many places poses a challenge for genuine local cooperation, but IRONMAN has shown itself to be a willing partner in working to leave a positive impact on the Boulder community and steward borrowed venues as if they were home.” Since 2008, the Council for Responsible Sport has certified over 100 sporting events within four levels – Certified, Silver, Gold, and Evergreen. IRONMAN Boulder is in elite company being amongst only nine events to receive the highest (Evergreen) status, and is also the only triathlon to achieve this level of certification. “Achieving this certification is the result of a strong and strategic partnership with the team at Waste Management,” said Cameron O’Connell, Senior Director of Sales for IRONMAN. “With their guidance, we have been able to implement sustainable standards across our event series. Our success with IRONMAN Boulder can now serve as a best-practices example for our company and for race organizers everywhere.” IRONMAN worked with Waste Management, first, by capturing current environmental initiatives and then by identifying opportunities for improvement and innovation with a focus on IRONMAN Boulder. This led to green initiatives that have now been rolled out across the North American race series, such as utilizing compostable cups at all aid stations and donating leftover nutrition to local food pantries and shelters. “Waste Management is proud to support IRONMAN on a wide variety of sustainable event programs on its journey to achieve the highest level of certification from the Council for Responsible Sport for the Boulder race,” said Lee Spivak, Senior Associate with Waste Management’s Sustainability Services group. “We are excited to continue this relationship and help IRONMAN grow its sustainability initiatives across all five categories of standards. It was also great for our team to utilize our sustainable event management expertise to help another major event achieve Council certification.” Highlights from the IRONMAN Boulder triathlon sustainability initiatives included: Environmental

• Collected bike inner tubes and tyres for reuse through TerraCycle.
• Reduced waste generation by reusing fencing, flags, finish line materials, tents, signs, inflatable arches and the IRONMAN Village truss from previous IRONMAN events.
• Collected 64 carbon dioxide canisters from event activities to ensure they were reused instead of ending up in landfill.
• Provided a free shuttle service to and from major venues; IRONMAN shuttled close to 10,000 people between locations, reducing about 3,000 vehicle trips in each direction.
• Reduced the material sent to landfill by asking all vendors to sign a participation agreement so they only use materials for the event that were locally recyclable, compostable or reusable.
• Measured the total event water use at 14,925 gallons and purchased Water Restoration Certificates from Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) to restore 50,000 gallons to the Colorado River Basin.
• Offset 100% of the greenhouse gas emissions from event operations by purchasing 10 MTCO2e through the Colorado Carbon Fund.

Thanks to its successful efforts to implement socially and environmentally responsible practices around race day in 2016, Ironman Boulder has earned the highest level certification, Evergreen, from the Council for Responsible Sport. Events are evaluated across five categories: planning and communications; procurement; resource management; access and equity; and community legacy. Since 2008, the Council for Responsible Sport has certified more than 100 sporting events with four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Evergreen. Ironman Boulder is only the ninth event to reach the highest status, and the only triathlon. “Boulder was a race market that already demanded unique environmental efforts and presented an opportunity to go further,” Keats McGonigal, senior regional director for Ironman, told Triathlete. “We are planning to take lessons learned from this race’s achievements to see what might be scalable at other events across the series.” Ironman worked with Waste Management to capture current environmental initiatives and then identified opportunities for improvement and innovation, starting with Boulder. This has led to green initiatives to be rolled our across the North American race series, such as utilizing compostable cups at all aid stations and donating leftover nutrition to local food pantries and shelters. Some highlights from the 2016 Ironman Boulder sustainability initiatives: Environmental:

• Collected bike inner tubes and tires for reuse through TerraCycle.
• Collected 64 carbon dioxide canisters from event activities to ensure they were reused instead of ending up in the landfill.
• Provided a free shuttle service to and from major venues—Ironman shuttled close to 10,000 people between locations, reducing about 3,000 vehicle trips in each direction.
• Reduced the material sent to landfill by asking all vendors to sign a participation agreement so they only use materials for the event that were locally recyclable, compostable or reusable.
• Measured the total event water use at 14,925 gallons and purchased Water Restoration Certificates from Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) to restore 50,000 gallons to the Colorado River Basin.
• Offset 100 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from event operations by purchasing 10 MTCO2e through the Colorado Carbon Fund.

Nearly half of Americans do not recycle their beauty and personal care products, accounting for a significant amount of landfill waste. Garnier and DoSomething.org are hoping to change that with their new  Rinse, Recycle, Repeat campaign and college campus competition, which aims to educate consumers about the importance of recycling beauty product empties. The partners have tapped Youtuber Remi Cruz of MissRemiAshteneand RemiLife to serve as the face of the campaign, which includes a public service announcement about recycling her own beauty products. The goal of the campaign is to tap into the #empties social conversation and educate young people on the importance of bathroom recycling. The campaign will demonstrate how recycling can keep recycling beauty product packaging out of landfills and be used to create green gardens within local communities. Garnier hopes that the campaign will be able to divert 10 million empties from landfills by the end of 2017. “We’re excited to show young people the positive impact they can make on the planet and their community, simply by recycling their empties from the bathroom,” said Aria Finger, CEO at DoSomething.org. “We’re proud to be working with Garnier, a brand that continuously demonstrates its commitment to sustainable beauty, to give these products new purpose.” To participate in the national Rinse, Recycle, Repeat campaign, individuals can:

• Sign up online at DoSomething.org/rinse, decorate a bathroom recycling bin and share a picture with DoSomething.org on the “Prove It” page online or by texting RINSE to 38383 to be entered to win a $5,000 scholarship.
• Once the bin is filled with 10 pounds of beauty empties, participants can print a free shipping label to send their empties to TerraCycle — the world’s leader in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle post-consumer waste — to be responsibly recycled.

On April 1, a college competition will kick off on 50 college campuses across the U.S. to collect the most empties. The college team that collects the most empties will be rewarded with a garden for their community, furnished by Garnier and TerraCycle. “DoSomething is an incredible organization that has made significant strides to impact social change through connecting young people who share a passion for making the world a better place. We are very proud to partner with DoSomething to raise awareness around the positive impact of bathroom recycling on the environment,” said Ali Goldstein, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Garnier. “We have been working with TerraCycle for six years and through this broader collaboration our hope is to significantly increase the amount of beauty product empties that are diverted from landfills and recycled into useful materials to build green gardens,” Goldstein added. The Garnier Beauty Recycling Program, in partnership with TerraCycle, is the world's first-ever beauty and personal care recycling program which facilitates the collection and recycling of beauty empties that otherwise cannot be recycled by providing complimentary shipping of empties to TerraCycle. Since its inception, the Garnier Beauty Recycling Program has diverted more than eight million empties out of landfills. These empties were turned into pelletized lumber for raised garden beds, benches, trash receptacles and other elements for community gardens. Garnier has donated five green gardens to organizations in New Orleans, Detroit and New York City, with three more planned in 2017. These gardens have engaged hundreds of thousands of individuals in the surrounding communities, and many of them grow fruit and vegetables for local schools in impoverished areas where children do not have access to nutritional lunches.

Thanks to its successful efforts to implement socially and environmentally responsible practices around race day in 2016, Ironman Boulder has earned the highest level certification, Evergreen, from the Council for Responsible Sport. Events are evaluated across five categories: planning and communications; procurement; resource management; access and equity; and community legacy. Since 2008, the Council for Responsible Sport has certified more than 100 sporting events with four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Evergreen. Ironman Boulder is only the ninth event to reach the highest status, and the only triathlon. “Boulder was a race market that already demanded unique environmental efforts and presented an opportunity to go further,” Keats McGonigal, senior regional director for Ironman, told Triathlete. “We are planning to take lessons learned from this race’s achievements to see what might be scalable at other events across the series.” Ironman worked with Waste Management to capture current environmental initiatives and then identified opportunities for improvement and innovation, starting with Boulder. This has led to green initiatives to be rolled our across the North American race series, such as utilizing compostable cups at all aid stations and donating leftover nutrition to local food pantries and shelters. Some highlights from the 2016 Ironman Boulder sustainability initiatives: Environmental: 

• Collected bike inner tubes and tires for reuse through TerraCycle.
• Collected 64 carbon dioxide canisters from event activities to ensure they were reused instead of ending up in the landfill.
• Provided a free shuttle service to and from major venues—Ironman shuttled close to 10,000 people between locations, reducing about 3,000 vehicle trips in each direction.
• Reduced the material sent to landfill by asking all vendors to sign a participation agreement so they only use materials for the event that were locally recyclable, compostable or reusable.
• Measured the total event water use at 14,925 gallons and purchased Water Restoration Certificates from Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) to restore 50,000 gallons to the Colorado River Basin.
• Offset 100 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from event operations by purchasing 10 MTCO2e through the Colorado Carbon Fund.