Rubbermaid – a division of Newell Brands – has announced a partnership with international recycling leader, TerraCycle.   Through the Rubbermaid Food Storage Recycling Program, any interested individual, office, school, or community organisation in North America can now send in all brands of well-used glass and plastic food containers to be recycled for free.   Users can sign up on TerraCycle for the US or Canada and mail the products using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, they are cleaned and melted into hard plastic or glass that can be remoulded to make new recycled items.   “Partnering with TerraCycle allows us to create an even more sustainable product lifecycle while giving people an easy way to recycle their containers,” said Ryan Hall, Marketing Director, Food Storage at Newell Brands.   TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky added: “Newell Brands and Rubbermaid are offering consumers a unique opportunity to divert waste from landfills and responsibly dispose of food storage containers that may initially seem unrecyclable.”   Trenton (NJ), USA

Rubbermaid has announced a partnership with international recycling specialist TerraCycle to make food storage containers recyclable in the US and Canada.   Through the new partnership, Rubbermaid says they will help ensure their glass and plastic food storage containers will have a sustainable end to their lifecycle.   The TerraCycle program is a step toward Rubbermaid's existing sustainability efforts and will make Rubbermaid products an even stronger choice for environmentally conscious consumers or for anyone looking to lead a more sustainable life.   "Our food storage products help keep food fresh to reduce waste and are made better to enable a long life of reusability," said Ryan Hall, Marketing Director, Food Storage at Newell Brands. "Partnering with TerraCycle allows us to create an even more sustainable product lifecycle, while giving consumers an easy way to recycle their well-used containers whenever they are ready to upgrade to our newest innovations. As an exclusive partner in our category, we are excited to be leading the way."   Through the Rubbermaid Food Storage Recycling Program, consumers can now send in all brands of well-used glass and plastic food storage containers to be recycled for free. Participants simply sign up on the TerraCycle program pages for the United States or Canada and mail in well-used food storage containers using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the containers are cleaned and melted into hard plastic or glass that can be remolded to make new recycled products.   "Newell Brands and Rubbermaid are offering consumers a unique opportunity to divert waste from landfills and responsibly dispose of food storage containers that may initially seem unrecyclable," said Tom Szaky, TerraCycle Founder and CEO. "By accepting and recycling any food storage product, regardless of brand through the recycling program, Rubbermaid is expanding their commitment to sustainability and helping to build awareness that a recycling solution exists for just about everything."   The Rubbermaid Food Storage Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization.

Consumers can now recycle well-used food storage containers through TerraCycle July 14, 2020  by CM Staff   TRENTON, N.J. — Rubbermaid, a home organization and food storage solutions provider, announced on July 14 a partnership with international recycling company, TerraCycle, to make all brands of food storage containers recyclable in the U.S. and Canada.   “Our food storage products help keep food fresh to reduce waste and are made better to enable a long life of reusability,” said Ryan Hall, marketing director, food storage at Newell Brands, in a prepared statement. “Partnering with TerraCycle allows us to create an even more sustainable product lifecycle, while giving consumers an easy way to recycle their well-used containers whenever they are ready to upgrade to our newest innovations.”   Through the Rubbermaid Food Storage Recycling Program, consumers can send in all brands of well-used glass and plastic food storage containers to be recycled for free. Participants have to sign up on the TerraCycle program pages for the U.S. or Canada and mail in well-used food storage containers using a prepaid shipping label.   Once collected, the containers are cleaned and melted into hard plastic or glass that can be remolded to make new recycled products.   “Newell Brands and Rubbermaid are offering consumers a unique opportunity to divert waste from landfills and responsibly dispose of food storage containers that may initially seem unrecyclable,” said Tom Szaky, TerraCycle founder and CEO, in a statement. “By accepting and recycling any food storage product, Rubbermaid is expanding their commitment to sustainability and helping to build awareness that a recycling solution exists for just about everything.”

The plan is to identify products that are clean, cruelty-free and vegan, as well as those that have sustainable packaging or positive impacts.

As virus-wary customers opt for grocery delivery instead of in-store browsing, an eco-friendly startup is offering U.K. shoppers a way to cut down on all that consumer-goods packaging. Loop, a spin-off of New Jersey recycling specialist TerraCycle Inc., is starting a trial with supermarket operator Tesco Plc that lets consumers order products like Heinz ketchup and Nivea shaving balm in containers designed to be returned and refilled over and over again. Shoppers can order the products via a local Loop website, with Loop keeping a small deposit that’s returned when it gets the packaging back for reuse. The U.K. is Loop’s latest market -- it already operates in the U.S. and France, while expansion to Canada, Japan and Australia is coming in this year and early 2021, the company said. Related: The Milkman Model Is Back, This Time for Shampoo and Haagen-Dazs In a phone interview, Loop and TerraCycle founder and Chief Executive Officer Tom Szaky said the company’s sales remain strong amid the Covid-19 pandemic that has roiled the consumer landscape. Tesco CEO Dave Lewis said in a statement that the grocery chain “has a clear ambition to reduce packaging” and the partnership will help it develop new plans using reusable containers. Loop, which has partnered with big companies like Coca-Cola Co. as well as smaller ones, ships customers’ orders in stainless steel, glass or aluminum packaging. When the container is emptied, shoppers can either request pickup of the containers or they can drop them off at 2,500 collection points in the U.K. The jars, canisters and bottles are sorted, professionally cleaned and returned to the manufacturer for a refill. “The professional cleaning means people aren’t afraid” to use the service during the pandemic, Szaky said.  

Cult French clean skincare brand Caudalie has officially the opened the doors to its first Canadian flagship Boutique Spa in Toronto. Called the Caudalie Hazelton House, the new 1,100 square foot boutique (located in Yorkville) includes a retail space as well as a spa that will offer a full range of Vinothérapie treatments. Given that the province is still currently in phase two of reopening, facial treatments are currently unavailable (these will be available for booking when Toronto enters phase three), however body treatments can be booked immediately.  There are social distancing measurements in place, including allowing clients to use the skin scanner tool whilst guided by a therapist to analyze their skin needs and be given a personalized regimen, as well as the wearing of masks by staff and clients during treatments. Design elements in the boutique have been inspired by vineyards in the brand’s home of Bordeaux, including a grapevine chandelier, white oak wine barrel merchandising fixtures and marble inspired by the tiles from the brand’s first spa. Plus, the brand has partnered with TerraCycle to recycle empty Caudalie products from consumers and keep waste to a minimum. Speaking of the boutique’s opening, Caudalie’s co-founder Mathilde Thomas said, “Opening a flagship location in Toronto is an important milestone for Caudalie, one that we’ve been looking forward to for a while. The history, culture and energy of Toronto excited us to connect with this beautiful city, share our brand story and immerse Toronto into the DNA of Caudalie.” After months of working from home, there’s probably never been a better time to book yourself in for a little (or a lot of) pampering. To book your appointment, visit caudalie.ca or call 427 215 1267.  

By Helen Carefoot July 9, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EDT   As the novel coronavirus pandemic rages across the United States, some states have temporarily reversed eco-friendly measures, such as plastic bag bans, to protect both workers and customers, and some consumers have turned to disposable products, such as plastic gloves and utensils, to reduce the sharing of common surfaces. But it’s still possible to practice green habits without compromising your health, experts say.   It’s hard to measure how the pandemic has affected the environment in real time, but a pressing issue for environmental groups is the potential waste being produced by more people using single-use items, such as disinfecting wipes and paper towels. In addition to bleach and alcohol, soap and water works on surfaces, said Ellie Murray, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health; for a reusable option, launder towels and rags used for cleaning in warm water with soap. Cloth face coverings should be laundered regularly, too.   Darby Hoover, a senior resource specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council who focuses on food waste initiatives, said the challenges of balancing safety and sustainability will continue as more businesses reopen. “The business sector has produced much less waste, but we need to make sure we don’t lose momentum,” she said, noting that most waste is created by businesses, not consumers. She supports measures recommended by public health experts, and she said overall that the lifestyle changes prompted by stay-at-home orders, such as cooking at home, have brought about positive changes in how people are consuming and acquiring goods. “People are cooking from scratch and contributing to their overall health and producing less waste,” she said. Composting, cooking at home and buying ingredients in bulk are all sustainable practices that she recommends.   John Mills, an associate hospital epidemiologist at the University of Michigan’s academic medical center who has been treating coronavirus patients, is frustrated by some of the waste he has seen, such as increased use of plastic utensils (he says proper hand-washing will do more to prevent virus spread than using disposables), but he supports and encourages measures that minimize touch points between people and that protect workers. He said measures such as banning reusable bags in stores are good for now, because they provide extra protection for workers who bag groceries. He likes his local grocery’s policy of having customers bag their own groceries, which allows them to use reusable totes instead of plastic bags. “That way, the store employee doesn’t need to worry that you’ve done the cleaning,” he said.   On a larger scale, though, Tom Szaky, founder of TerraCycle, a private recycling business that specializes in hard-to-recycle products, worries about a global drop in recycling. Falling oil prices and restrictions on what materials can be recycled, he said, could affect recycling companies’ bottom line. (Many companies have limited what they accept to protect workers in the short term, which Szaky supports.) “It’s not going to make recycling go away, but it’s going to make it way less capable.” Companies that have made commitments to pivot to recycled packing will have a tougher time meeting those goals with these conditions, he said.   Recycling personal protective equipment, such as the disposable masks and gloves that have ended up on streets and in landfills, is another challenge going forward, Szaky and Hoover said. “We need to figure out how to recycle them in a way that keeps people safe,” Hoover said.   Despite these obstacles, Szaky has seen sustained interest from both companies and individuals in keeping commitments to the environment. “As we come out of this, I think people are going to be looking to bring their own personal solution, and maybe some of the behaviors they got out of covid,” such as gardening or cooking at home, he said. He encourages consumers to look for products that can be recycled locally or that have some form of take-back program, and to look for products that can be reused.   Lauren Singer, author of the blog Trash is for Tossers and founder of Package Free, a company that sells sustainably made home and body products, is known for living a “zero-waste lifestyle.” Despite growing a following by forgoing packaged goods as much as possible, Singer said falling ill before New York enacted its stay-at-home order (and living in the city during Hurricane Sandy) informed her decision to stock up on products she normally wouldn’t, such as canned goods and freezable items, to minimize trips to the store. She encourages consumers to do what they can to reduce waste but to put their safety first. “First and foremost, your basic needs have to be met,” she said. She still keeps up with other habits, such as using reusable glass containers, composting food scraps and making her own toothpaste and deodorant using baking soda.   Both Murray and Lona Mody, a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the University of Michigan, say good public health practice and policy go hand in hand with environmentalism. The pandemic and the conditions that may have exacerbated it, Murray said, are a chance to reimagine infrastructure and systems that create conditions for viruses to thrive, such as crowded public transportation. Disease changes habits, and some cities have already adopted measures, such as cutting streets off to cars to allow more space for walking, biking or eating outdoors, that are also environmentally beneficial. “It’s a good time for us to be conscious. Doing the right thing for public health is usually the right thing for the earth,” Mody said.

By Helen Carefoot July 9, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EDT   As the novel coronavirus pandemic rages across the United States, some states have temporarily reversed eco-friendly measures, such as plastic bag bans, to protect both workers and customers, and some consumers have turned to disposable products, such as plastic gloves and utensils, to reduce the sharing of common surfaces. But it’s still possible to practice green habits without compromising your health, experts say.   It’s hard to measure how the pandemic has affected the environment in real time, but a pressing issue for environmental groups is the potential waste being produced by more people using single-use items, such as disinfecting wipes and paper towels. In addition to bleach and alcohol, soap and water works on surfaces, said Ellie Murray, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health; for a reusable option, launder towels and rags used for cleaning in warm water with soap. Cloth face coverings should be laundered regularly, too.   Darby Hoover, a senior resource specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council who focuses on food waste initiatives, said the challenges of balancing safety and sustainability will continue as more businesses reopen. “The business sector has produced much less waste, but we need to make sure we don’t lose momentum,” she said, noting that most waste is created by businesses, not consumers. She supports measures recommended by public health experts, and she said overall that the lifestyle changes prompted by stay-at-home orders, such as cooking at home, have brought about positive changes in how people are consuming and acquiring goods. “People are cooking from scratch and contributing to their overall health and producing less waste,” she said. Composting, cooking at home and buying ingredients in bulk are all sustainable practices that she recommends.   John Mills, an associate hospital epidemiologist at the University of Michigan’s academic medical center who has been treating coronavirus patients, is frustrated by some of the waste he has seen, such as increased use of plastic utensils (he says proper hand-washing will do more to prevent virus spread than using disposables), but he supports and encourages measures that minimize touch points between people and that protect workers. He said measures such as banning reusable bags in stores are good for now, because they provide extra protection for workers who bag groceries. He likes his local grocery’s policy of having customers bag their own groceries, which allows them to use reusable totes instead of plastic bags. “That way, the store employee doesn’t need to worry that you’ve done the cleaning,” he said.   On a larger scale, though, Tom Szaky, founder of TerraCycle, a private recycling business that specializes in hard-to-recycle products, worries about a global drop in recycling. Falling oil prices and restrictions on what materials can be recycled, he said, could affect recycling companies’ bottom line. (Many companies have limited what they accept to protect workers in the short term, which Szaky supports.) “It’s not going to make recycling go away, but it’s going to make it way less capable.” Companies that have made commitments to pivot to recycled packing will have a tougher time meeting those goals with these conditions, he said.   Recycling personal protective equipment, such as the disposable masks and gloves that have ended up on streets and in landfills, is another challenge going forward, Szaky and Hoover said. “We need to figure out how to recycle them in a way that keeps people safe,” Hoover said.   Despite these obstacles, Szaky has seen sustained interest from both companies and individuals in keeping commitments to the environment. “As we come out of this, I think people are going to be looking to bring their own personal solution, and maybe some of the behaviors they got out of covid,” such as gardening or cooking at home, he said. He encourages consumers to look for products that can be recycled locally or that have some form of take-back program, and to look for products that can be reused.   Lauren Singer, author of the blog Trash is for Tossers and founder of Package Free, a company that sells sustainably made home and body products, is known for living a “zero-waste lifestyle.” Despite growing a following by forgoing packaged goods as much as possible, Singer said falling ill before New York enacted its stay-at-home order (and living in the city during Hurricane Sandy) informed her decision to stock up on products she normally wouldn’t, such as canned goods and freezable items, to minimize trips to the store. She encourages consumers to do what they can to reduce waste but to put their safety first. “First and foremost, your basic needs have to be met,” she said. She still keeps up with other habits, such as using reusable glass containers, composting food scraps and making her own toothpaste and deodorant using baking soda.   Both Murray and Lona Mody, a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the University of Michigan, say good public health practice and policy go hand in hand with environmentalism. The pandemic and the conditions that may have exacerbated it, Murray said, are a chance to reimagine infrastructure and systems that create conditions for viruses to thrive, such as crowded public transportation. Disease changes habits, and some cities have already adopted measures, such as cutting streets off to cars to allow more space for walking, biking or eating outdoors, that are also environmentally beneficial. “It’s a good time for us to be conscious. Doing the right thing for public health is usually the right thing for the earth,” Mody said.  

By Helen Carefoot July 9, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EDT   As the novel coronavirus pandemic rages across the United States, some states have temporarily reversed eco-friendly measures, such as plastic bag bans, to protect both workers and customers, and some consumers have turned to disposable products, such as plastic gloves and utensils, to reduce the sharing of common surfaces. But it’s still possible to practice green habits without compromising your health, experts say.   It’s hard to measure how the pandemic has affected the environment in real time, but a pressing issue for environmental groups is the potential waste being produced by more people using single-use items, such as disinfecting wipes and paper towels. In addition to bleach and alcohol, soap and water works on surfaces, said Ellie Murray, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health; for a reusable option, launder towels and rags used for cleaning in warm water with soap. Cloth face coverings should be laundered regularly, too.   Darby Hoover, a senior resource specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council who focuses on food waste initiatives, said the challenges of balancing safety and sustainability will continue as more businesses reopen. “The business sector has produced much less waste, but we need to make sure we don’t lose momentum,” she said, noting that most waste is created by businesses, not consumers. She supports measures recommended by public health experts, and she said overall that the lifestyle changes prompted by stay-at-home orders, such as cooking at home, have brought about positive changes in how people are consuming and acquiring goods. “People are cooking from scratch and contributing to their overall health and producing less waste,” she said. Composting, cooking at home and buying ingredients in bulk are all sustainable practices that she recommends.   John Mills, an associate hospital epidemiologist at the University of Michigan’s academic medical center who has been treating coronavirus patients, is frustrated by some of the waste he has seen, such as increased use of plastic utensils (he says proper hand-washing will do more to prevent virus spread than using disposables), but he supports and encourages measures that minimize touch points between people and that protect workers. He said measures such as banning reusable bags in stores are good for now, because they provide extra protection for workers who bag groceries. He likes his local grocery’s policy of having customers bag their own groceries, which allows them to use reusable totes instead of plastic bags. “That way, the store employee doesn’t need to worry that you’ve done the cleaning,” he said.   On a larger scale, though, Tom Szaky, founder of TerraCycle, a private recycling business that specializes in hard-to-recycle products, worries about a global drop in recycling. Falling oil prices and restrictions on what materials can be recycled, he said, could affect recycling companies’ bottom line. (Many companies have limited what they accept to protect workers in the short term, which Szaky supports.) “It’s not going to make recycling go away, but it’s going to make it way less capable.” Companies that have made commitments to pivot to recycled packing will have a tougher time meeting those goals with these conditions, he said.   Recycling personal protective equipment, such as the disposable masks and gloves that have ended up on streets and in landfills, is another challenge going forward, Szaky and Hoover said. “We need to figure out how to recycle them in a way that keeps people safe,” Hoover said.   Despite these obstacles, Szaky has seen sustained interest from both companies and individuals in keeping commitments to the environment. “As we come out of this, I think people are going to be looking to bring their own personal solution, and maybe some of the behaviors they got out of covid,” such as gardening or cooking at home, he said. He encourages consumers to look for products that can be recycled locally or that have some form of take-back program, and to look for products that can be reused.   Lauren Singer, author of the blog Trash is for Tossers and founder of Package Free, a company that sells sustainably made home and body products, is known for living a “zero-waste lifestyle.” Despite growing a following by forgoing packaged goods as much as possible, Singer said falling ill before New York enacted its stay-at-home order (and living in the city during Hurricane Sandy) informed her decision to stock up on products she normally wouldn’t, such as canned goods and freezable items, to minimize trips to the store. She encourages consumers to do what they can to reduce waste but to put their safety first. “First and foremost, your basic needs have to be met,” she said. She still keeps up with other habits, such as using reusable glass containers, composting food scraps and making her own toothpaste and deodorant using baking soda.   Both Murray and Lona Mody, a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the University of Michigan, say good public health practice and policy go hand in hand with environmentalism. The pandemic and the conditions that may have exacerbated it, Murray said, are a chance to reimagine infrastructure and systems that create conditions for viruses to thrive, such as crowded public transportation. Disease changes habits, and some cities have already adopted measures, such as cutting streets off to cars to allow more space for walking, biking or eating outdoors, that are also environmentally beneficial. “It’s a good time for us to be conscious. Doing the right thing for public health is usually the right thing for the earth,” Mody said.