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4 Reality Checks About Packaging and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

TerraCycle Include USA Walgreens Loop Häagen-Dazs Kroger Ulta Beauty

Kids are visual — and keyed in to change. So, when a friend’s 10-year-old, Everleigh, engaged me in a conversation about what plastics were doing to the oceans, I gave her my full attention. “Let me show you,” she said. She pulled up a Tik-tok video, and I watched as a massive crane dumped thousands upon thousands of large plastic containers and other debris onto the deck of a ship. Part of the notorious Great Pacific Garbage Patch, this junk had been successfully scooped up from the sea. Everleigh’s excitement over the progress this video shares is why we see so many leading brands pledge to help rid the planet of waste. She is their future customer. Or maybe not. Here’s what we know: • 92% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is comprised of large-sized debris, containing nearly 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic. • 8% of the GPGP is comprised of single-use plastic packaging, but a larger percentage is tossed into rivers where debris flows downstream, breaks apart. and end up on the ocean floor. • Compounding this problem, large debris eventually breaks down to pieces no larger than a centimeter, called “microplastics.” • Over time, microplastics sink to the ocean floor where they are impossible to remove; they are mistaken for food by marine life. • Discarded fishing nets — also known as ghost nets — along with other fishing industry debris, account for 46% of the GPGP’s mass. Marine life often gets caught in the nets. Reality Check #1: According to the National Geographic Society, as of 2018, it would take 67 ships operating every day for one year to rid the GPGP of just 1% of the debris. Can it be cleaned up? Although the outlook seems bleak, there are advances under way that leverage science and technology to clean up the GPGP. The Ocean Clean Up project announced in October of 2021 that its experimental clean-up fleet had successfully cleared more than 63,000 pounds of plastic debris in a single haul. Based on these findings, the organization is increasing its fleet and is greatly optimistic it’ll reduce up to 50% of the patch every five years, with the end goal of removing the great patch altogether by 2040. It’s worth noting that these projections include debris that is continuously being added to the patch. Reality check #2: According to Covestro, a global supplier of high-tech polymer materials, “Infrastructure systems designed to manage and collect waste have struggled to keep up with the dramatic rise of single-use plastics in circulation, and as a result, plastic pollution has increased rapidly in recent years, especially in developing countries.” Why add to the patch in the first place? It’s long been my belief as a packaging designer that the problem is not only the patch itself, but the process that created it. In other words, we have a responsibility to accelerate packaging innovation to avoid adding fuel to the fire that is the patch. We need smarter ways to design reusable and biodegradable packaging and become true players in the circular economy. Remember, the next generation is watching. Kids are not only seeing the tortoise in distress with the straw in its nose; they are also learning about the perils of plastic in school. Brands that take this seriously will not only make good on their pledges, but fuel their appeal to the next generation and outperform lagging competitors. So, who’s getting it right? Loop Ulta Beauty Group Shot-web_0.jpg

Closing the Loop. Loop is a subscription service for food and household goods, launched by TerraCycle. The Loop services are offered through major chains such as Walgreens and Kroger. Currently testing their concept nationally, the service provides people with products in reusable packaging, such as shampoo bottles and ice cream containers. Once empty, packaging is picked up, refilled, and reused. Loop has also partnered with Ulta Beauty, a national personal care brand, to offer its portfolio of sustainable products. As befits its name, Loop is a prime example of the emerging circular economy. Companies are reinventing reusable. Just take a look at what Häagen-Dazs is offering through Loop. As part of a reusable delivery strategy, the brand created an attractive stainless-steel canister. The design is ideal for a premium brand. The containers provide a new canvas for packaging ingenuity. Reminiscent of old-school metal lunch canisters, images and graphics jump off the silver background. With such a substantial upgrade, Häagen-Dazs stands out from other premium ice creams, essential in a competitive category. Thanks to this packaging, the ice cream is even more fun and delicious to eat. The double-walled container allows the ice cream to melt more quickly at the top than at the bottom. This way, people enjoy a balanced level of density. The ice cream maintains its consistency even when you reach the bottom. The container also protects the product throughout transport. This is more than just sustainable packaging; it’s packaging that elevates the consumer experience.

It’s on record, more than a billion toothpaste tubes in the US alone end up in landfills. No doubt many go to the oceans. One reason for this is that the packaging is manufactured with multiple layers making it ineligible for recycling. Colgate-Palmolive spent five years developing a new recyclable tube made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), the same plastic that is used for milk jugs, with the promise of compatibility with our current recycling infrastructure. This is no doubt a breakthrough for the category. Reality Check #3: While this is a great concept, we know a large portion of recyclable packaging still goes to waste. That’s because our recycling industry (the people who pick up/sort our trash) urgently needs an overhaul. How does the recycling facility know the difference between this tube and every other?

Sugarcane — how sweet it is. Sugarcane usage as a packaging material is blowing up right now. It possesses the trifecta of ethical packaging benefits: it’s renewable, biodegradable, and compostable. In fact, anything made from sugarcane will degrade within 60 to 90 days. We’re seeing it everywhere: coffee cups, utensils, single-use plates, to-go boxes, bags, lids, pizza boxes, straws, and tons more. Companies like Good Start Packaging — a leading source of sugarcane packaging — are also a real threat to expanded polystyrene foam (EPS). Here’s a material that takes 500 years to degrade and consumes 30% of the space in every landfill. If it goes to the ocean, EPS inevitably breaks down into microplastic. And we all know what that does to marine life. A parting word from Everleigh.

I mentioned my friend’s daughter Everleigh who, at 10, is passionate about preserving our oceans. So, what can we do to assure her generation they’re being heard? We can start by taking accountability for the role our industries play in addressing the problems. I’ve talked about some of the innovations and new materials that packagers are bringing to the table. I’ve also shared what activists are doing to clean up the GPGP. But here’s the final reality check. Reality check #4: We can fix the mistakes of past generations, but it takes more forward thinking to make our efforts toward sustainability “sustainable.” Four questions we need to ask ourselves to really bring about change: 1. How can we improve the recycling infrastructure so that the degradable toothpaste tube goes to the right place? According to Unilever, “It’s technically possible to recycle about 70% of our product portfolio. However, what is actually recycled is lower because of the lack of infrastructure of communities.” 2. How we ensure that new materials, whether sugarcane or innovative plastics, get sorted correctly and not end up in the ocean? 3. How do we advance the use of products that truly fit the circular economy, such as reusables, compostables, and post-consumer recycled plastics (PCR)? 4. How do we partner with our clients to create packaging that would delight Everleigh’s generation? This starts with avoiding new plastics; instead using only recycled options. As a packaging designer, I realize this isn’t a small ask, but a necessary one, considering the power each generation has on the way we live our lives, conduct business, and confront change. If we want to create a loyal customer base, we need to accept that the “wonder material” known as plastic needs to adapt well to our new circular economy.

A Closer Look at Kroger’s Growing Reusable Packaging Program

Include USA Loop Kroger (Fred Meyer) Simple Truth

Kroger recently launched an assortment of products in reusable packaging in select U.S. stores via its partnership with circular packaging firm Loop. The debut marks an important expansion in the grocery retailer's larger sustainability efforts and Loop's first in-store launch. The partners debuted an in-store pilot in the U.S. at 25 Kroger-owned Fred Meyer stores in Portland, Oregon, and offers a variety of products to customers in reusable packaging, including products from leading national brands and Kroger’s Simple Truth private label. Here's how the Loop partnership works: Developed by circular reuse platform TerraCycle, Loop recovers and sanitizes reusable packaging for recirculation with new products. Subscribers pay a deposit ranging from 15 cents for a glass beverage bottle to $10 for a stainless-steel container of disinfecting wipes. Participating manufacturers introduce products that employ reusable packaging. These products are placed in a designated Loop section of participating retail stores, which serve as the collection site for end users to return the packaging when the contents are consumed. In 2021, Loop revealed its global subscriber network had grown from about a dozen participating companies worldwide in 2020 to 150 in 2022. In addition to Kroger, both independent brands and other packaging end users including Nestle are expanding their reusable packaging options for their part in the program. While reuse systems are well-established for packaging products such as pallets and drums that are typically handled by nonconsumer end users, reusable packaging is also increasingly interesting in consumer markets due to the potential sustainability benefits, according to a news release from The Freedonia Group, an international industrial research company and division of Marketresearch.com. Based on the company’s collection of packaging studies, the recent release noted: According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, converting 20% of global plastic packaging into reusable packaging represents a $10 billion business opportunity. When end users reuse the packaging as intended, these items are less likely to enter solid waste streams (whether recycling or composting facilities, or the landfill), resulting in a reduction of total packaging waste. In addition, recirculated packaging reduces the overall material requirements of packaging production as fewer new products are needed. While recirculated packaging is most common in food and beverage categories, it is also seeing increased use in personal care and household items, as well as in e-commerce, according to the release. For instance, in 2021, major shipping concerns including FedEx Express and InPost, introduced reusable e-commerce packaging solutions across multiple European markets that could translate to the U.S. market.

a store in a library In addition to its Kroger partnership, Loop is also launching its products in select Duane Reade stores, owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance, in the greater New York metro area later this year. “Walgreens is excited about this opportunity to help consumers purchase sustainably packaged products and contribute to a healthier planet," Lauren Brindley, Walgreens group vice president of beauty and personal care, said in a Loop news release. "Innovative collaborations with partners like Loop are critical to solving the complex issue of reducing single-use plastics. Our customers look to us to innovate so that together we can reduce waste and increase re-use.”

Is your morning coffee worth polluting our environment for?

TerraCycle Include Canada (English) ZWB Loop Tim Hortons

Though Canada has committed to a plan of zero plastic waste by 2030, we need immediate action, Kaeley Cole writes.

Globally, less than 10 per cent of the world’s plastics are recycled; the rest ends up in landfills, incinerators or as litter. Why should you care? Plastic pollution harms the ecosystems we rely on to keep our planet healthy. According to a report released by the World Economic Forum in 2016, plastics will outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050. Toxic chemicals from plastics end up in our water and cause behavioural and physiological changes in fish. These chemicals also climb the food chain and eventually impact humans directly. In fact, studies have found tiny plastic particles in human blood and embryos. This is extremely concerning because it means plastics can move around inside our bodies, accumulate in our organs, effect babies’ developing immune systems and cause long-term damage. Though Canada has committed to a plan of zero plastic waste by 2030, we need immediate action. One way we can act now is by making takeout practices greener, much like New York City has done. In 2020, New York cafés and restaurants implemented a 25 cent charge for disposable cups, encouraging people to bring reusable mugs. Additionally, their takeout materials are compostable. We need incentives like this in Canada.

Globally, 2.5 billion single-use coffee cups are discarded annually. Most takeout chains have fully plastic lids and cold cups, while hot cups are typically paper with an inner plastic lining. Cups lined with plastic are difficult and expensive to reprocess since the materials need to be separated. As a result, many municipalities don’t recycle these and they end up in the landfill resulting in unnecessary garbage. Lids and cold cups are usually recyclable, but they need to be end up at the right facility. This means making sure residents are properly sorting their waste. Unfortunately, the City of Hamilton doesn’t have public recycling bins, so when people are out and about waste that could be recycled ends up in garbage bins.

The solution? First of all, municipalities should provide clearly marked trash and recycling bins in public spaces. Second, we need to curb our use of single-use cups. This doesn’t mean you need to give up your morning coffee run, but you should do it more sustainably. I conducted a little experiment this week. I got my morning coffee from Starbucks and Tim Hortons at McMaster University. I brought in my own reusable cup to avoid the single-use waste. I was told, because of sanitary reasons and COVID-19, my cup couldn’t be used.

What shocked me is that Starbucks’ website states that as of Aug. 24, 2021, personal reusable cups were reintroduced in stores across Canada. So what’s going on? Either there’s a discrepancy between Starbucks’ policies and operations at individual locations’ or perhaps McMaster Facility Services has imposed a set of rules vendors need to comply with that differs from those at Starbucks’ HQ. Either way I urge students — and Hamiltonians more broadly — to fight for the reintroduction of reusable cups at cafés throughout Hamilton. Tim Hortons brought back the reusable cup option on April 6. It also has innovative plans in the works, like creating recyclable and compostable cups, using artificial intelligence to educate consumers on recycling and composting, as well as piloting TerraCycle’s zero-waste platform Loop. On Nov. 1, 2021, Loop was set in motion at five Burlington locations. Customers can opt to get their orders in returnable containers for a $3 deposit per item, to be refunded when the products are returned. This is a great way to cut down on single-use plastics. I urge folks to participate in this program — let’s make it a success! Even with Canada following through on its promises toward zero plastic waste, the issue at hand will not just disappear. Plastics travel long distances by wind and water, making plastic pollution a global issue. Though it is important to start at a community level, we can’t forget to advocate for global change.

5 NJ Burger King stores first in world to offer reusable packaging

Include USA Loop Burger King

Five Burger King outlets in northern New Jersey offer customers the chance to purchase their food and drinks in reusable containers through a first-of-its-kind partnership with Loop, a reusable packaging program by Trenton-based TerraCycle in partnership with a coalition of manufacturers and retailers. After finishing their meals, customers can return the reusable container to the Loop Return Point at the store to be cleaned and reused. Customers will be charged a $2 deposit upon purchase on each item, and will receive a refund once their package is returned. Participating Burger Kings include 1088 Broadway, Bayonne; 118 Central Ave., Clark; 1022 East Route 18, East Brunswick; 751 Harrison Ave.; Harrison; and 1822 Springfield Ave., Maplewood. Loop SVP Marketing and Platforms Heather Crawford said consumer buy-in to the pilot program, which launched in January and will go on for at least six months, has been high. “Consumer response in the early days has been really strong. We’ve heard from consumers that they prefer the design and functionality of the reusable containers to the disposable ones,” Crawford said. The Burger King partnership is part of a larger macro-series of launches in the next few months, including upcoming programs with Walgreens and other big box retailers. Loop recently launched in 25 Fred Meyer stores, a Kroger grocery banner, in Portland, Ore.; and before that launched internationally in France and the U.K., among others. While Loop isn’t calculating the environmental impact of the five North Jersey stores, it’s working with Burger King on projections of what the program would look like at scale. Predictions are based on the consumer response so far. “One of the educational barriers we need to get passed is what does it mean to borrow a cup instead of bring your own reusable … Educating consumers has been an educational task for the marketing team and the teams crafting the marketing,” Crawford said. Consumers in states with bottle deposits — five or 10 cents on glass and plastic bottles — are more familiar with the concept than those without bottle deposits, Loop has found. “Loop is the next siege in the evolution of how we manage the water crisis. One of the ways is the product never becomes waste at all – it instead can be reused,” Crawford said.

Fred Meyer Launches Recycled Packaging In Portland

Include USA Loop Fred Meyer/Kroger

APR 1, 2022 @ 8:18AM

PORTLAND, Ore.– Fred Meyer Stores and Loop, the reuse platform developed by TerraCycle has introduced about 20 items to shoppers in reusable packaging. This is the first of its kind partnership in the U.S.. Customers can shop at 25 Fred Meyer stores in the Portland area for brands like Cascade, Clorox, Gerber, and Pantene, as well as Kroger’s Simple Truth Brand. Metro is glad that Fred Meyer and its partners are testing the first Loop pilot here in Oregon. It fits with the Regional Waste Plan. Customers can buy the products in refillable, reusable containers found in branded displays in participating store. After a consumer uses the product, they can return the empty packaging to the Loop collection bin in the store. The containers are then picked up ,cleaned, refilled, and made available for purchase by a new customer. There’s a small packaging deposit, and a full refund is given once the package is returned. Loop’s movement to an in-store retail model began in Paris, France in 2020.

Burger King restaurants in NJ charging deposit for containers you return Read More: Burger King restaurants in NJ offer reusable containers | https://nj1015.com/burger-king-restaurants-in-nj-charging-deposit-for-containers-you-return/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Include USA Include Canada (English) Loop Burger King

TRENTON - Five North Jersey Burger King restaurants have teamed up with the global reuse platform, Loop, to limit the amount of packaging waste generated each year across the nation.

The Loop Return Point at the Burger King in Clark (Photo Credit: Dan Zarrow)

What area Burger King locations are participating in the program?

Bayonne, 1088 Broadway

Clark, 118 Central Avenue

East Brunswick, 1022 Route 18

Harrison, 751 Harrison Ave.

Maplewood, 1833 Springfield Ave.

The Loop Return Point outside the Burger King in Clark (Photo Credit: Dan Zarrow)

How does it work?

It's easy! Customers at these five New Jersey locations can purchase menu items such as sandwiches, soft drinks, and coffee and have them served in durable, reusable packaging. When finished, customers return the reusable container to the Loop Return Point at the Burger King to be cleaned and reused.

The Loop Return Point outside the Burger King in Clark (Photo Credit: Dan Zarrow)

Customers will be charged a small deposit upon purchase. But the refund is given after the package is returned.

TerraCycle’s Loop makes US debut in Portland, Oregon

Include USA Include Canada (English) Loop Clorox Kroger Pantene Cascade Gerber Simple Truth Arbor Teas Nature's Heart Stubb's

By: Gabrielle Saulsbery February 24, 2022 7:25 am

Loop, the circular reuse platform developed by Trenton’s TerraCycle, has partnered with grocery chain The Kroger Co. by offering a selection of products in reusable packaging rather than in single-use plastic. Customers can walk into any of 25 Kroger-owned Fred Meyer stores in the Portland, Ore., metro area and purchase 20-plus products from popular consumer brands packaged in reusable containers. “Loop’s goal has always been to grow, scale and be accessible to consumers around the world,” said Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop, in a prepared statement. “With the world’s largest retailers bringing Loop to physical brick and mortar locations, we are giving consumers what they’ve been asking for since Loop was introduced in 2019 – the ability to purchase the products they use every day in durable, reusable containers, with the convenience of shopping at their local market.” The Loop assortment includes well-known food and household products from brands such as Cascade, Clorox, Gerber, Nature’s Path, Pantene and Stubb’s, as well as Kroger’s own Simple Truth brand. More brands will be added to the Loop product portfolio in the coming months. “Our focus on innovative solutions as we continue on our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste journey aligns with Loop’s mission to create a convenient circular packaging platform,” said Lisa Zwack, Kroger’s head of sustainability, in a prepared statement. “Customers are increasingly seeking out sustainable products and services that fit their lifestyle, and this collection makes it convenient. As the first grocer in America to offer these products, Kroger is pleased to take another meaningful step toward a world with zero waste.” Customers can purchase Loop-ready products in refillable, reusable containers found in branded displays in participating Fred Meyer stores. After using the products, they can return the empty packaging to the Loop collection bin located at each participating store. Then, Loop will pick up the empty containers to be cleaned, refilled, and made available for purchase by a new customer. Customers will be charged a small packaging deposit upon purchase, and a full refund is given once the package is returned. This is Loop’s U.S. debut. The service has previously launched in France, China and the United Kingdom.

Pantene and Stubb's will be sold in reusable containers at some Kroger stores

Nestle Include USA Include Canada (English) Mondelez Loop Kroger

By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Business

New York (CNN Business)If you walk into one of 25 Fred Meyer stores in the Portland area this week, you'll find something unusual.

Gathered together at the end of an aisle will be an eclectic assortment of about 20 products, including shampoo and dish soap, barbecue sauce, granola and more. The items are made by well-known consumer brands like Pantene, Seventh Generation, Stubb's and Nature's Path.

But instead of their usual packaging, these products come in glass, aluminum or heavy-duty plastic. And after you buy them, you have to bring those packages back.

The items are part of a new partnership between Kroger (KR), which owns Fred Meyer grocery stores, and Loop, a platform that partners with brands and retailers to sell mainstream products in reusable packages.

Loop is launching in 25 Kroger stores in the Portland metro area.

As consumers become increasingly concerned about plastic pollution and sustainability, companies are ramping up their environmental pledges. Moving from disposable to reusable packaging could help prevent more waste from piling up in landfills. But before they go all-in on such initiatives, retailers want to know if customers will buy into that solution, which requires them to fundamentally change their behaviors and spend more.

A test like this can help. "We're eager to understand [consumer] adoption," said Lisa Zwack, Kroger's head of sustainability. "Is it truly something that they're interested in? What makes it palatable to them?"

Here's how it works: Customers who buy the Loop products have to pay for the product, as well as a refundable deposit for the packaging which varies from product to product and can reach up to about $10. Once they've used up the soap or the shampoo or eaten the food, they return the empty container to a bin at a participating store, and get their deposit back.

Loop products will be available at those 25 Fred Meyer locations starting Wednesday. "We anticipate the initial pilot being around six months and then from there, we will determine what any next steps or expansion would look like," Zwack said.

Prices for Loop items are "generally a bit higher than a conventional item," she added, even before the deposit, because they're more niche and therefore costlier to produce, among other reasons.

A slow expansion

Loop launched in 2019 as a global partnership that includes some of the world's largest consumer goods companies. It was founded by Tom Szaky, CEO of the recycling company TerraCycle.

The platform started as an online store where customers could choose from an array of products in reusable containers, have them delivered to their homes, and send the empties back in a special tote. There, too, they had to pay a refundable deposit for each product. Loop worked with companies from Mondelēz (MDLZ) to Nestlé (NSRGY) to develop reusable packages for their products, and coordinated the logistics from shipments to cleaning.

The service, Szaky said, was always meant as something of a test — the real goal is to make reusable packaging as widely available and convenient as possible. Buying items in mainstream retail stores, rather than on a dedicated site, is a step forward.

Customers can return empty containers to dedicated bins at participating Fred Meyer locations.

Loop has closed its online store now that its products are beginning to make their way into retailers across the world, including Carrefour in France, Aeon in Japan, and Tesco in the United Kingdom. Kroger is Loop's first retail partner In the United States.

Reuse initiatives stalled during the pandemic, when companies suspended programs that let people bring their own containers and focused on individually packaged products. Loop felt the impact, as the pandemic snarled supply chains and delayed its launches with companies that sidelined innovation projects to focus on stabilizing their core offerings, Szaky said.

Loop is encouraged by how things are going now, even if its progress is moving slowly. Those international retailers are adding Loop products to more of their stores, although they're still not widely available. Retailers like Walgreens are planning to start selling Loop products this year, Szaky added.

TerraCycle: A second life

Include USA Include Canada (English) Loop TerraCycle Made TerraCycle Home

Tom Szaky started TerraCycle to reaffirm his belief that Nothing is Waste and to give waste a second life through recycling By Bismita Rabha In the recent decades, there has been a considerable change in the youth’s mindset towards private businesses. More start-up companies have mushroomed, driving the economy, creating employment, and producing waste. When combined with the pre-existing corporations that used more conventional ways of production, the waste ending up in landfills has reached unimaginable levels in the 21st century. With more emphasis on climate action by people, a wave of change is on its way. Determined to take environmental responsibility seriously, Tom Szaky started TerraCycle - a recycle solution for every kind of waste, even the ones with a “nonrecyclable” label. Redefining the concept of waste and encouraging waste to be given a second life through recycling. Princeton University dining hall: The birthplace of an idea In spite of dealing in millions presently, TerraCycle started out as a vermicomposting model. Tom reminisces about the time when he conceptualised the business. “I got the idea for TerraCycle as a college freshman at Princeton University in 2001. The original business model was vermicomposting (converting food waste into worm poop), packaging it in used soda bottles and selling the resulting fertiliser. I sourced the food waste from the Princeton dining hall’s leftovers and in order to find a larger supply of packaging, I recruited the help of local students to collect used soda bottles - essentially creating a precursor to our current free recycling programs which student organisations and community groups use as a fundraising activity.” TerraCycle no longer produces fertiliser, but has pioneered recycling solutions for some of the world’s toughest garbage problems, proving that everything is technically ‘recyclable’ and developing solutions for nearly every waste stream you can think of, including drink pouches, used toothbrushes, cigarette butts and even dirty diapers! In short, TerraCycle takes waste that is not recyclable through conventional methods (i.e. your municipality’s curbside recycling program) and turns it into raw material that is then used to make new products. No trade-offs With more than 10 years’ worth of hard-work and innovation, TerraCycle is now operational in 21 countries which includes the UK, Brazil, France, Germany, Sweden, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia. However, reaching this milestone has not been a smooth road. “Despite being on the verge of bankruptcy only one year into starting the business, I turned down a million-dollar grand prize from the Carrot Capital Business Plan,” says Tom, as the investors were keen on reducing the company’s focus on the sustainable actions and suggested firing the staff that helped him build the enterprise. After turning down the winnings, adversity sparked innovation and TerraCycle’s breakthrough came in 2004 when The Home Depot and Walmart started selling their little-known “wormpoop” fertiliser in re-used soda bottles. TerraCycle has always strived to “eliminate the idea of waste,” and for all these years of operation, they have been supporting this mission by offering consumers and the (CPG) viable solutions, many of which were previously unavailable, to recycle packaging waste. To date, over 200 million people worldwide have collected nearly 7.8 billion pieces of pre- and postconsumer waste and over US$ 44 million has been donated to schools and nonprofits. “TerraCycle’s ultimate measure of success is not just greater access to recycling, it is the universal adaptation of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” adage we were taught as children,” shares Tom. TerraCycle acknowledges the challenge of waste not being handled properly and recycling units not being enough. Moreover, they consider recycling a “band-aid to the global waste crisis.” There is no “silver bullet” to realise the vision of “eliminating the idea of waste.” It is a process that requires generous contribution from everyone. Reducing consumption, investing in reusable packaging technology, and when materials can no longer be reused, recycling them is the solution. TerraCycle’s vision of success synthesises these approaches in pursuit of a truly “circular” economy in which resources are reused continually rather than being disposed of after a single use. Looping in TerraCycle is reaching newer dimensions with its work. Tom informs, “As we move forward as a brand, we will continue to implement new programs that build towards this idea of a circular economy. The launch of Loop in-store, the first-ever circular shopping system, enables consumers to shop for their favourite products in reusable, not disposable packaging.” It is a sustainable, zero-waste version of shopping for your daily needs like food, personal care, household goods and other supplies. In the Loop store, you can return all their durable packaging once you have finished the product, and Loop will clean, refill and reuse all of it. A number of brands like Coca Cola, Heinz, Dr. Will’s and more are partnering with Loop to make eco-conscious consumption simpler. Other than that, emerging business units include TerraCycle Home, which offers food waste collection and composting services as well as recycling services for items not accepted in local recycling programs; TerraCycle Made, that makes products out of materials the company recycled, will also create more opportunities for the consumer to lead more sustainable lives. »

As 6 tendências de embalagens sustentáveis que assistiremos em 2022.

TerraCycle Include Brazil Loop

Os pioneiros de reutilização Algramo e Loop continuaram a se expandir em 2021. A Algramo levantou US$ 8,5 milhões em uma rodada da Série A para ajudar a financiar sua expansão em Jacarta, Nova York, México e Londres.