While the debate continues over who is "responsible" for making plastic material more recyclable, and more valuable, brands and companies can take initiative in using less and committing to research. Recently, the U.N. recognized a partnership between TerraCycle, Procter & Gamble and Suez that has made recyclable shampoo bottles using the material. This is especially relevant as the recycling industry grapples with China's changing import policies. There is widespread agreement that recycling in the U.S. needs to change — which is especially true with strict contamination standards coming into force in a matter of months.  

From cigarette buts to flip-flops, Tom Szaky of TerraCycle believes everything can be recyclable. In Tom Szaky’s vision of the new economy, nothing is garbage. Not cigarette butts. Not dirty diapers. Not even used tampons.

In Tom Szaky’s vision of the new economy, nothing is garbage. Not cigarette butts. Not dirty diapers. Not even used tampons.

At the moment, there are 165 million tons of plastic in our oceans. If something doesn’t change, there will be more plastic than fish by weight in the oceans by 2050. The use of plastics has skyrocketed in the past 50 years, and this trend is likely to continue because it is in nearly all the products we consume. If the strong growth for plastics doesn’t subside, the plastics sector will account for 20 percent of total global oil consumption. Sadly, sea life and birds are dying from eating or becoming tangled in this debris.

P&G partnered with TerraCycle to create the Fairy Ocean Plastic bottle, which is made from 90 percent post-consumer recycled plastic and 10 percent ocean plastic.

As a design material, plastic is fantastic. Cheap, durable and light - it is the doyen of packaging, the king of all our white goods and the magic ingredient in everything from shampoo to cosmetics. But, as we send more and more plastic to landfill and into our oceans, it is becoming ubiquitous with our environment.

Packaging can earn a wide range of awards and that's all well and good, but there’s a globally known organization, the United Nations (New York City), that’s not usually associated with awards for packaging developments.