Back-to-school season is on its way, and while the thought of homework, exams, and long campus days may seem overwhelming, this seasonal transition is actually a great time to refocus! We at HC love to treat the new school year almost like the start of a new year entirely, right down to refreshing our mindset (along with pretty much all our possessions as we back-to-school shop our hearts out). The biggest change we’re making this year: being mindful of our eco-footprint with our beauty routine.

Depending on your local recycling center, you can’t toss your toothbrush into the recycling bin. Well you can, but you’ll just be adding trash for the workers to pick out. And you shouldn’t throw your toothpaste tube in the bin either. But you can mail them to a specialized recycling center for free, with a program from Colgate and TerraCycle.

As consumers, let’s decrease our eco-footprint to further push for sustainability. There’s a whole ~planet~ and ~society~ to consider each time we make a purchase, which means you should be shopping considerate retailers whenever possible. Some best practices that go a long way:

• Shop eco-conscious packaging
• Look for naturally-derived ingredients
• Use paraben-free products and formulas

Once you’ve got your medicine cabinet overhauled with sustainably sourced products, the next step is to recycle recycle recycle. According to TerraCycle, beauty and personal care products account for 1/3 of the landfill. It’s unreal. Shampoo and conditioner bottles, hairspray cans, face wash, deodorant, nail polish, shaving cream – all the bottles from these personal care products and more can be recycled, and part of updating your beauty routine includes being mindful for waste production and disposal.

To find out whether your local recycler actually processes toothpaste tubes, you'd have to call them to find out. If you are committed to recycling your toothpaste tubes, are willing to cut and scrape them after use and your local waste management company still won't take them, you do have at least one option: Recycling organization Terracycle has partnered with Colgate-Palmolive to recycle toothpaste tubes (and other oralcare products) free of charge.

o Waste Pet Food

Buying zero waste dog and cat food can be a challenge. I’ve been to several health food stores that offer pet food in bulk, but I have to say, it’s pretty rare (but if you find it, stock up!). Should you be unable to find kibble in bulk, your next best options are to make your own (who’s brave?) or buy a product that comes in recyclable packaging — not technically zero, but not very wasteful either. Here are a few options that do:

• Guardian Pet Food Company offers a mail-in solution for recycling through TerraCycle. A number of other brands have started doing so as well.
• Open Farm also offers a mail-in recycling option.
• Wet food comes in steel cans which are easily recycled in the U.S. But keep in mind that they are often lined with BPA.

We utilize packaging innovation to extend freshness, provide functional benefits, and ensure safe delivery. We offer clean labels, eye-catching designs, recyclability via Terracycle, and unique ingredients that draw in the elusive, sought-after millennial target market. We're selected as Amazon's Choice, which means anyone asking Alexa to buy a juice cleanse will be recommended LemonKind.

Before you do anything, investigate which material streams are accepted by your local waste and recycling providers. You might be surprised to learn that many areas to do not accept glass containers or plastic film, such as grocery bags and shrink wrap, in single-stream recycling bins. And remember, it’s about more than recycling: Ask your provider or municipality about other material collection options, such as organics (food waste), electronics, and hazardous waste. Consider adding TerraCycle Zero Waste Boxes for hard-to-recycle materials like chip bags and coffee pods. You may also want to offer bins for items to donate, such as books, art supplies, and clothing.

Nearly 30 pounds of old crayons from all over the country land on Kim Martonosi’s doorstep every day. With the help of her kids, she sorts the worn and broken wax sticks by color, melts the bins of blue-greys and light greens and pinks down to a gooey swirl, and shapes the new creations into stars and earthworms and simple sticks. Over the past 25 years, Martonosi’s business, Crazy Crayons, has salvaged just over 120,000 pounds of colorful wax, the equivalent of about 12 million new coloring tools.

Beauty products account for 1/3 of all landfill waste. (Yeah, not a good look.) Save face and the planet — simultaneously — with these clever, hardworking products that just happen to be besties with Mother Earth... Help save the planet in 60 seconds with these one-minute, vegan treatments infused with tropical super fruit extracts like goji berry and papaya. Recycling your empties is equally as fast thanks to Garnier’s partnership with TerraCycle.