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Nordstrom Wants to End the Waste Problem in the Beauty Industry

Have you ever noticed how many words us beauty people have for using up our products? There's "hit pan," which is code for cleaning out a shade in a makeup palette. There's also "empties," a cutesy way of saying you've used your products until the last drop. But the important part, at least where Mother Earth is concerned, is what comes next – and it may not be what you think.   As we reported early this year, throwing empty products in your blue recycling bin with the best of intentions unfortunately isn't enough to ensure that your used packaging will have a second life. Only nine percent of all plastic waste ever produced has actually recycled. This is due in part to the complex nature of product packaging, which makes it difficult to sort for users and impossible to sort for waste management machines. Lotion pumps, for example, are typically made with a metal spring and plastic tubes. Even if you rinse it out and toss it in the bin, the multifaceted materials mean it'll end up in a landfill. Or in the ocean. Or on Trash Mountain.

Tips for a Low-Waste, Low Risk Halloween

The scariest thing about Halloween isn’t the ghosts, or goblins, or ghouls. It’s the amount of waste generated in celebration of the holiday. From the literal tons (300,000 to be exact) of candy we purchase, individually-wrapped in single-use plastic and often times thrown out before it’s eaten, to the mass amount of decorations big box stores put on display as early as July, we have a Halloween consumption problem. Don’t get spooked yet though! As the St. Louis City Mayor announcesHalloween is not canceled, the city has released official guidelines for a safe Halloween. Read on to see our tips for a low-waste holiday.

Enjoy A Safe, Fun, And Earth-Friendly Halloween In Iowa City

This coming Halloween may be unlike past years due to COVID-19, but there are still plenty of ways to have a safe, spooky, and Earth-friendly holiday.
Iowa City's recycling coordinator Jane Wilch has a Jack-o'-lantern filled with fun ideas on how to have a green Halloween this year. 
Durable, reusable, recyclable Halloween decorations. Choose decorations that you can use year after year. For recyclable decorations, look for plastics that are #1-5 or #7, as #6 and unlabeled plastics are not recyclable. Avoid metallic or glitter-coated decorations, as these cannot be recycled. Questions? Check out icgov.org/recycle.

Retail Flagship Store Opens Its Doors During This Precarious Time to Offer Sustainable Products and Community Recycling Programs

Koru Eco Brand opens its’ flagship store in downtown Cocoa Beach, Florida. One of the first retail stores of its kind in the area, Koru Eco Brand offers its own sustainable swimwear, apparel, accessories and home goods along with other sustainable lifestyle brands. In 2012, when the company first entered the market, it was primarily a high-end sustainable swimwear brand called Koru Swimwear. As the company grew, it expanded into eco-friendly apparel and accessories in addition to selling its swimwear. “Our mission to be a sustainable swimwear and apparel brand grew to be more of a lifestyle brand with added beauty and home products, so we decided to rename the company from Koru Swimwear to Koru Eco Brand…it made more sense to do that with the expansion of our products,” stated Julie Stine, Koru Swimwear and Koru Eco Brand Founder and CEO. She continued, “We really feel it’s important to incorporate education in our ads and in our store so people can understand the importance of making conscious purchases that have a lighter footprint on our earth. We depend on our earth to provide us with a healthy environment for our survival, so it’s important we take care of it.”

Nordstrom Wants to End the Waste Problem in the Beauty Industry

Have you ever noticed how many words us beauty people have for using up our products? There's "hit pan," which is code for cleaning out a shade in a makeup palette. There's also "empties," a cutesy way of saying you've used your products until the last drop. But the important part, at least where Mother Earth is concerned, is what comes next – and it may not be what you think. As we reported early this year, throwing empty products in your blue recycling bin with the best of intentions unfortunately isn't enough to ensure that your used packaging will have a second life. Only nine percent of all plastic waste ever produced has actually recycled. This is due in part to the complex nature of product packaging, which makes it difficult to sort for users and impossible to sort for waste management machines. Lotion pumps, for example, are typically made with a metal spring and plastic tubes. Even if you rinse it out and toss it in the bin, the multifaceted materials mean it'll end up in a landfill. Or in the ocean. Or on Trash Mountain.

HOW TO RECYCLE YOUR DISPOSABLE MASKS

Covid-19 has created an entirely new, massive wastestream. Terracycle has found a way to recycle PPE and prevent this garbage from polluting our waterways. Covid-19’s spread is merciless. The disease has now infected nearly 36 million people worldwide, killing more than 1 million, including 210,000 Americans. Thankfully, we know one thing slows it down: face masks. Studies show face masks can help reduce the spread of Covid-19 by up to 85 percent and help save lives. The director of the CDC says masks are our best defense against the disease, and that if all Americans wore them, Covid-19 would be controlled in 6 to 12 weeks. Needless to say, face masks are essential to protecting human life, but they have a downside — an overwhelming amount of waste that will take hundreds of years to decompose. The Guardian recently reported there were more face masks in our seas than jellyfish.

Nordstrom Launches BEAUTYCYCLE Nationwide First major retailer to offer a recycling program for all brands of hard-to-recycle beauty packaging, in partnership with global recycling leader, TerraCycle

BEAUTYCYCLE, the first beauty take-back and recycling program accepting all brands of beauty packaging at a major retailer, launches today at Nordstrom. Each year, more than 120 billion units of plastic packaging are produced by the beauty industry, but less than nine percent gets recycled. Customers can now bring in their empty beauty product packaging to be recycled at any of Nordstrom’s full-line stores or Nordstrom Local service hubs in the continental United States. Through this program, Nordstrom aims to take back 100 tons of hard-to-recycle beauty packaging by 2025 to ensure it’s recycled. Many municipal recycling centers do not accept beauty materials and packaging, as they often contain a mix of materials that are not locally recyclable.

Less Than 9% of Beauty Products Are Recycled, but Nordstrom's New Program Aims to Fix That

In an effort to reduce the amount of waste in landfills created by plastic packaging in the beauty industry, Nordstrom has announced a new nationwide recycling program called Beautycycle, in partnership with global recycling leader TerraCycle. As of Oct. 1, shoppers can bring in their empty beauty products to be recycled at any of Nordstrom's full-line stores or Nordstrom local service hubs in the US. At the Beautycycle drop-off boxes available at the department stores, shoppers can dispose of empty cosmetic, hair-care, and skin-care packaging, regardless of the brand or where the product was purchased. This new initiative makes Nordstrom the first major retailer to offer a recycling program for all beauty products. Nordstrom's press release states that less than nine percent of the 120 billion units of plastic packaging produced by the beauty industry are recycled each year, and they hope to change that.

Enjoy a safe, fun and Earth-friendly Halloween

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

Durable, reusable, recyclable Halloween decorations

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

Eco-friendly costumes

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

Give sustainable treats

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

Collect your candy and treats in a reusable or durable option

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

Compost your pumpkins and gourds

To compost at the curb, remove any candles or lights from inside your pumpkin and place it in your organics container (City cart, or personal 20-35 gallon upright container), or in a paper yard waste bag, and then set it at the curb for collection on your normal service day. Residents can also take pumpkins to the Iowa City Landfill’s compost facility to be composted at no charge.
PDF version of this guide is also available online. Questions? Call our Recycling Coordinator Jane Wilch at 319-887-6110.

A safe Halloween during COVID-19 pandemic

With input from the Johnson County Public Health Department, the City has issued safety recommendations for a safe and fun Halloween. Read how you can stay safe at our website.

Hasbro Children's Hospital Completes New Healing Garden and Playground

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hasbro Children's Hospital announced the completion of the Balise Healing Garden and reimagined playground. The space was made possible by donor support and generous gifts to the Every Child, Every Day campaign, and partners Starlight Children's Foundation, CVS Pharmacy, Colgate-Palmolive Company, and TerraCycle. "We know there's a correlation between spending time outside and the healing journey for children – that a place for respite brings normalcy to a child's hospital stay," said Timothy J. Babineau, MD, President and CEO of Lifespan. "We are thankful to all of our incredible supporters whose generous philanthropy made this transformation a reality. Hasbro Children's has truly been built by our community, for our community." Located outside the hospital's lower level, the Balise Healing Garden and conjoined playground are 29,000 sq. ft. and feature a raised bed teaching garden and re-worked Healing Arts Theatre with stadium-style benches and chimes and drums for patients to express themselves. The playground, including swings and a climb-on structure with a wheelchair accessible slide, is located nearby. Built on a cushioned base, the equipment is constructed from recycled materials, including oral care products collected through a nationwide recycling initiative. For 3-months, consumers were asked to recycle their oral care products through CVS Pharmacy and TerraCycle to help their state win a playground for a Starlight partner pediatric facility. Rhode Island recycled more waste than any other state, and Hasbro Children's received the grand prize. "We were able to help build this wonderful playground for families at Hasbro Children's while incentivizing recycling among our CVS Pharmacy customers," said Eileen Howard Boone, SVP of Corporate Social Responsibility & Philanthropy and Chief Sustainability Officer at CVS Health.  "It's a win-win for everyone, most importantly the countless children who will enjoy the playground for years to come." The Balise Healing Garden and the playground were completed late September and follows current COVID-19 health and safety guidelines. Media Contact: Cristine Lovato, (626) 824-0325, cristine.lovato@starlight.org About Hasbro Children's Hospital Hasbro Children's Hospital, part of the Lifespan health care system, is the premier pediatric facility for clinical care, research and education for Rhode Island and southeastern New England. A private, not-for-profit institution, it is the pediatric division of Rhode Island Hospital, a teaching hospital of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Hasbro Children's Hospital is designated as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons. SOURCE Starlight Children's Foundation