Do you pause with plastic poised over your waste bin, squinting to see recycling numbers, or question the compostability of a coffee cup? You have company. Colmar Brunton’s 2020 Better Futures report found 67% of us want more business environmental action. We toss 97 million plastic bottles into landfill, yet half of us say we would switch brands based on sustainability. Perhaps we should take more personal responsibility. Sandford, a self-professed ‘sustainable’ fishery, packs my market fish on a plastic tray with no recycling number, then clingwraps it. Following my enquiry, it says it is moving to using sustainable packaging. After a call to Hellers about the lack of a recycling number on packs, Brydon Heller replied that customer pressure is prompting them to change to recyclable packaging. So speak up. The supermarket that banned plastic carry-bags festoons me with produce plastic bags, so my veges now go loose to the checkout. Last year, a report from the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor came to the worrying conclusion that there is no coordinated approach to reporting plastics use. But the report is baffling – it stated the aim of onshore recycling by 2025 of PET, HDPE, PP and perhaps LDPE. Elsewhere, the kids’ ‘ecovibe’ drinking straws are PLA, and my freezer bags are BPA-free. Have I missed a lifestyle eco-glossary? Today, plastics comprise 85% of the world’s beach litter, most of which is food-related. Does greed drive prolific packaging, or is it the increased demand of a growing world? Sir David Attenborough reminded the British parliament recently that the mantra of continuing economic growth in a finite environment belongs to either an economist or a madman. You can jolly nearly obliterate plastics with the stroke of a pen said the 94-year-old broadcaster, adding, “If you can convert or get rid of plastic waste economically, there’s a fortune to be made.” In 2003, Tom Szaky launched international recycling company TerraCycle, now operating here. He believes it is more economical to manufacture from recycled than from virgin materials. Despite almost all products being ‘technically’ recyclable, he says only four are commonly accepted – clear glass, uncoated paper, certain rigid plastics and certain metals. Inventive TerraCycle accepts Gladwrap, Caffe L’Affare and Nescafé capsules and even cigarette butts, destined to become compost, park benches, pallets, or (ironically) ashtrays. It also invented chewing-gum recycling. In New Zealand, “plastic recycling is broken,” says Innocent Packaging’s general manager, Fraser Hanson. He began in 2013 in a garage, and now employs 15 staff making packaging from bagasse (a sugar byproduct), straw, paper and corn starch and Innocent composting bins sit outside 50 Auckland cafés. Hanson says our plastic production has increased twentyfold since 1964, yet just 5% of plastics are recycled effectively. My local council (Far North) has reduced its recyclable plastics list, and their Solid Waste Engineer admits, “We recycle what we have a market for.”  So, plastic 5 is off the menu for one- third of our local councils. However, jam makers Anathoth-Barkers say we import valuable plastic 5 because recyclers can’t collect enough. Processed into granules it makes low-grade items such as planters and buckets. Plastics NZ admits that “recycling is currently a minefield of confusion.” Take ‘compostable’ PLA (polylactic acid) drinking straws. Made from naturally occurring plant material, they require high-temperature composting and do not decompose in landfill or waterways. Some containers state ‘commercially compostable’ and, as of May last year, 12 facilities from Kerikeri to Timaru exist where the requisite 55-degree temperature is maintained. That’s also possible in a well-managed home compost system. Bostock Brothers packs its free-range chicken in home- compostable Grounded Packaging. Ben Grant from Grounded says the end- of-life process for packaging is poorly  understood. “Nationally the recycling stream doesn’t work; the chances of getting recycled are, more or less, none.” Composting, however, is a different story. Ben Bostock says their bioplastic packaging was developed to ensure shelf life. “We’ve had a lot of people say they don’t normally buy organic chicken because of the price, but they’re buying ours because of home-compostable packaging.” Bostocks themselves will hot-compost any packaging returned by consumers unable to compost at home, using it for fertilising hen-food crops. Sublime Coffee Roasters, frustrated with a tardy local council, developed its own hot compost system, diverting from landfill more than 5000 cups and lids a month in Nelson and Palmerston North. Nespresso also recycles its aluminium pods returned to them by consumers. For a reusable, recycled coffee cup, check the ingenious rCup from Ashortwalk Ltd in Cornwall, the idea of Dyson designer, Don Dicker, who says 500 billion disposable cups being thrown away annually, motivated him to create recycled products. Air New Zealand welcomes reusable cups onboard, and Head of Sustainability, Lisa Daniell, says they have diverted nearly 900 tonnes of flight waste from landfill since 2017. They’ve trialled edible cups which Customer Experience Manager Niki Chave home-tested, reporting, “The coffee cup will hold up, and stay crisp, much longer than it will take for you to drink your coffee.” There are more successes to smile about. Colgate has an international scheme to take back all brands of toothpaste tubes, brushes, floss containers and packaging. Its TerraCycle partnership has 2000 collection hubs from Kaitaia to Tokanui and a free- post scheme. Last year, New Zealand schools and charities received $70,000 from the scheme, along with lunch bags made from recycled toothpaste tubes. Support supermarket moves like the Food in the Nude initiative that began in New World’s Bishopdale store in Christchurch. Owner Nigel Bond says sales of some unwrapped veges increased up to 30%. Clean bread bags, bubble wrap and soft plastic packs, including foiled potato chip bags, can be recycled at The Warehouse, Huckleberry and 37 Countdown stores. They become recyclable fence posts and ducting. Graduates from the country’s top hospitality college, QRC, are charged to lead a culture of change says CEO Charlie Phillips. “Plastic packaging becomes ingrained, but it has not always been like that. We need to revert back to the future.” In the words of Ben & Jerry’s founder Jerry Greenfield, we’re “sheltered from the environmental and human impact of our everyday decisions and lifestyles.” So, let’s take more personal responsibility. Speak up and exercise the power of consumer choice. As Sir David Attenborough says, “The only way I get up in the morning is to say ‘Something’s got to be done, and I will do my best to bring that about.’” NOTE For a list of soft plastic collection points and recycling partners go to recycling.kiwi.nz.

Founded by Tom Szaky, TerraCycle is changing the way businesses handle their product waste. TerraCycle’s mission is to eliminate the idea of waste by using a new recycling process. TerraCycle operates in 21 countries with hundreds of recycling platforms that lead us closer to a functional circular economy. To date, TerraCycle has already diverted over 7 billion products from landfill globally. A Princeton University drop-out, Szaky has a passion to change the way people view waste. The idea came to him while recycling food waste at the university and turning it into fertilizer. A political refugee from Hungary, Szaky was inspired by the idea of working with capitalism, rather than against it. General Manager of TerraCycle Australia & New Zealand, Jean Bailliard, says TerraCycle repurposes products and their packaging to keep waste out of landfills and manage our Earth’s resources. “We want to get people to view waste as something useful, something we can circulate back into the economy. We need to be using it over and over again, and thus saving more of the world’s precious resources for future generations.” Bailliard says that a better question than ‘what can TerraCycle recycle?’ is ‘what can’t TerraCycle recycle?’ “Around the world, we recycle everything from complex items like cigarette butts, chewing gum, and even dirty diapers, through to simpler ones such as chip bags and cosmetic waste. We also focus on how to integrate unique waste streams back into consumer products like turning ocean plastic into shampoo bottles,” says Bailliard. Other products made from recycled products include garden beds, park benches, and playgrounds.

Partnerships

We all know what kerbside recycling looks like, but what’s the difference between weekly, government-funded recycling versus what TerraCycle does? Bailliard says it comes down to basic economics. “It simply costs more to process items that are complex and made of several different materials that are difficult to separate, than the processed material is worth. The reason why we’re able to recycle these items is down to our brand partners who sponsor the programmes, thereby filling the economic gap in the process,” says Bailliard. Colgate collaborates with TerraCycle to recycled their product waste. It is then recycled and repurposed into useful products. Last year the Colgate Community Garden Challenge encouraged New Zealand schools to collect as much oral care waste as possible. Winners from West Rolleston Primary school received a garden bed set made from recycled oral care packaging. Another one of TerraCycle’s brand partners is Nestlé. They specifically work on recycling the Nescafé Dulce Gusto capsules used in their at-home coffee machines. Nestlé New Zealand Head of Marketing, Fraser Shrimpton says their focus is to make all their packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025. Their capsule recycling partnership with TerraCycle is one of the many steps to get there. “To recycle Nescafé Dolce Gusto capsules through the program, Kiwis simply visit TerraCycle website, sign up for free and start collecting Nescafé Dolce Gusto coffee capsules in any cardboard box,” says Shrimpton. Collectors must seal their capsules in a plastic bag or ensure the capsules are dry before placing them in their collection box. When full, they log into their TerraCycle account and download a free shipping label. From there they stick the label to the box of waste and drop it at their nearest post office, free of charge. For each shipment of more than seven  kilograms of used capsules, collectors earn 2 points or $0.02 per capsule. This money goes to a school or non-profit organisation of their choice.

E-Waste – The New Kid On The Block

TerraCycle’s latest partnership with Vapo and Alt. to recycle e-cigarette waste is particularly exciting. With more electronic waste appearing within our capitalist society, a solution to this is needed more than ever. Bailliard says that e-waste is perhaps the final frontier for recyclers as it’s relatively new to them. So how do they do it? It starts with research and development of a recycling process in the U.S. This information is then passed onto third-party recycling vendors that TerraCycle work with. Bailliard says that this process allows them to have “ultimate flexibility,” meaning they can utilize any facility they require. Co-owner of Vapo and Alt. New Zealand, Ben Pryor, says it’s the first programme of its kind. “Late last year we announced that Kiwis could drop off their Vapo and Alt branded e-cigarette waste at any Vapo store for recycling. In March this year we extended the programme so vapers could send their vaping waste for free through the post.” Pryor says they don’t want to make the same mistake the tobacco industry has. “Let’s not forget that cigarette butts are the single greatest source of ocean trash. 5.7 trillion cigarettes worldwide are smoked annually. Cigarette butts are the number one man-made contaminant in our oceans,” says Pryor. Vapo and Alt will donate one dollar towards the charity Sustainable Coastlines for every kilogram of vaping equipment sent to TerraCycle.

Want To Know More?

Head to TerraCycle’s website for more information if you want to get involved as a business or an individual to start recycling your ‘out of the ordinary’ products..

TerraCycle specialises in converting traditionally non-recyclable waste such as cigarette butts, coffee capsules and cosmetic packaging into new products, including playgrounds and garden beds. Their Colgate Community Garden Challenge with New Zealand schools aims to divert tens of thousands of toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes from the landfill.

TerraCycle is a global recycling company that turns non-recyclable waste into sustainable raw materials. The CEO and founder of TerraCycle, Tom Szaky, talks the challenges and opportunities in the circular economy, and how the company is going in New Zealand.

A Kaipara wellness centre is helping to raise awareness about sustainability and inspire locals to help reduce landfill.

Whenukite Country Kids childcare centre has recently joined a new recycling initiative. The initiative is being driven by TerraCycle, an international company that has become a world leader in recycling hard-to-recycle materials.

With World Environmental Day right around the corner, thoughts turn to how to save the planet and reduce our collective negative impact on the environment. While that sounds like a monumental task, TerraCycle has six easy suggestions that can help you start making changes.

Elizabeth Keen from Terracycle joined Maggie on the Breakfast show from Sydney to discuss world compost week. Terracycle was a company that started with liquefied worm poo and now spans a recycling project across 21 countries.

Coffee capsules are being diverted from being dumped in North Canterbury. Community Wellbeing North Canterbury Trust is recycling coffee capsules on behalf of the community.