The team at Zotos Professional developed a new 'clean' hair care range -- Better Natured. The line includes 12 haircare and styling products, followed by a color range set to launch in June. The recyclable packaging, which is made with post-consumer recycled PET, features colorful labels. Marina Azizova, senior research & development director, Better Natured, says, "When our internal incubator team began creating the range, we wanted to ensure the products were as natural as possible without sacrificing performance. To do so, we started the formulation process using just a few active ingredients, and then pulled in the newest high-quality, naturally-derived options available on the market." Natural, Vegan, Cruelty-Free Better Natured's naturally-derived formulations deliver professional-level performance, the brand states, and the line was tested in a Certified Green Circle Salon. The formulas are also vegan and cruelty-free. They contain a triple plant milk blend of Tahitian palm, orchid, and coconut milk. The line is free from 12 controversial ingredients -- silicones, parabens, SLS/SLES sulfates (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate), petrolatum, mineral oil, phthalates, gluten, animal by-products, chemical sunscreens, microbeads, BPA and formaldehyde-releasing agents. The products meet ISO Global Standards, and have been rigorously tested for efficacy. The formulas are compliant with European and North American regulatory standards. Recyclable Post-Consumer Packaging Better Natured's packaging includes bottles with caps, spray bottles, bottles with pumps, and tubes. All are amber-colored, and decorated with colorful labels. The packaging is made using PCR PET plastic. The brand has also created the Better Natured Recycling Program, in partnership with Terracycle. The initiative ensures that the packaging will be diverted from landfills, and able to be recycled throughout the U.S. Promoting the Line, Sponsoring Charitable Projects Celebrity Hairstylist Marcus Francis is the brand's lead ambassador. Better Natured will be kicking off several charitable initiatives, including a partnership with Keep America Beautiful. The brand is sponsoring the Great American Cleanup, the nation's largest community improvement program to beautify local communities through structured service projects and community murals. Covid-19 Initiatives In light of the current Coronavirus pandemic, Better Natured is supporting medical workers on the frontlines by donating shampoo, conditioner, and gloves to the Stamford Hospital Foundation and Project Donate Beauty. More Info Better Natured is a Zotos Professional brand. Zotos Professional is a part of Henkel's North American Beauty Care business unit.

 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK :: WYOMING, USA   As the leader of WWF’s packaging and material science program, I am confronted with the issues of overconsumption daily. I know, for example, that Americans produce an average of 4.4 pounds of trash every day—a scale and speed that, for me, has often prompted feelings of frustration, sadness, and guilt. But last summer, I joined an expedition that gave me renewed hope. For six days, I was a guest on a Zero Waste Adventure in Yellowstone National Park. Launched by WWF partner Natural Habitat Adventures, the trip was the first of its kind, and challenged participants to partake in an ambitious, eco-minded experiment: diverting 99% or more of our waste from landfills by refusing, recycling, reusing, upcycling, and composting. To accomplish our goal, each of us was supplied with a special toolkit equipped with reusable water bottles, mugs, cutlery, and tote bags. We shared meals from reusable containers. We composted our food waste. And we used a TerraCycle system, which breaks down hard-to-recycle items, such as snack wrappers. By the trip’s end, 14 people had produced only a small mason jar-sized container of waste. With less trash in tow, I could focus on the park’s incredible, iconic landscape, which teemed with life: Blooming wildflowers dotted the terrain; pine and fir trees stretched into the clouds; and pollinators of every kind hummed in unison. In the distance, bear cubs somersaulted down hills and clambered over fallen trees, oblivious to our presence. Seeing such wildlife flourishing in the world’s first national park reminded me how much special places, and their inhabitants, can benefit from d that we are all part of the solution. It’s time zero waste strategies became a part of the conservation discussion. Our protection efforts. But it’s not enough to just safeguard land and species; we must also work toward a future where we significantly reduce our consumption and understand how our actions impact the planet. We can’t forget what’s at stake—an   Learn how you can leave a lighter footprint.

Lundberg Family Farms has partnered with international recycling leader TerraCycle^® to offer consumers a free, easy way to recycle their flexible Lundberg Family Farms packaging and food wrappers. As an added incentive, for every pound of packaging waste sent to TerraCycle through the recycling program, collectors can earn $1 to donate to a non-profit, school, or charitable organization of their choice.   By participating in the Lundberg Family Farms Recycling Program, consumers are invited to send in their empty flexible packaging and food wrappers to be recycled for free. Participation is easy: sign up on the TerraCycle program page www.terracycle.com/lundberg-family-farms and mail in the packaging waste using the prepaid shipping label provided. Once collected, the packaging will be cleaned, melted and remolded to make new recycled plastic products.   “Lundberg Family Farms was founded on my Grandpa Albert’s promise to leave the world better than we found it,” CEO Grant Lundberg said. “We are excited to partner with our friends at TerraCycle to deliver on that promise in a new way, with packaging that can skip the landfill for a second life as durable plastic goods, like park benches.”   For more than eighty years and four generations, Lundberg Family Farms has pioneered eco-positive farming methods to nourish, conserve, and innovate for a healthier world. What began as a small family rice farm in 1937, has grown into a mission-driven, vertically integrated company that’s committed to blazing the trail towards a brighter, more sustainable future.   “At TerraCycle, our mission has always been to eliminate waste, recycle the unrecyclable and use our innovative business solutions to minimize human impact on the planet,” said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. “It’s partnerships like the one we enjoy with Lundberg Family Farms that allow us to fulfill our objective and help preserve the environment for future generations.”

From calving to field work, teens balance farm/ranch   duties with school assignments and a few new skills When the Covid-19 pandemic shut down schools and most extra-curricular activities for students in mid-March, teens in agriculture found several silver linings. From helping family on the farm to learning a few new skills, here we highlight a few South Dakota youth making the most of this unusual time.   Trevor Johnson, a senior at Beresford High School, believes that “rather than allowing this current situation to consume us and govern our thoughts and feelings on life, I feel it’s important that we remember that while it may seem like eternity, we will not be stuck at home forever.”   Johnson says, “There is no doubt that missing prom, spring sports, State FFA Convention, graduation, and all the other activities at school is disappointing, but it serves as a great life lesson, not everything goes as planned. Instead of being mad or angry, may we all find the courage to work together so that we can put an end to the Coronavirus and go back to the life we are all waiting for.”   Johnson is using his time to help more around the farm and has spent more time preparing equipment for planting.  Prior to the coronavirus, Johnson’s senior year was already different than most students’ because he had an afternoon internship working for his uncle, which allowed him to leave school at 11:15 each day.   “My time spent working on our family’s farm has grown even more. Now, rather than being in class in the morning, I have been able to help out more with young calves and expedite chores in the morning,” Johnson says.   The time at home has also allowed Johnson to apply the welding skills that he learned from his ag classes over the past four year. He and his younger brother Tate Johnson recently purchased two welders and have started doing custom fabrication and building metal art for neighbors.     Positive approach   Near Estelline, SD, eighth grader Kenzy Beare has been spending her time out of school helping more outside with calving around the ranch and daily chores.   “My life consists of doing homework, helping outside, working with livestock and doing other inside projects,” she says. Beare and her family show livestock through 4-H and she has been busy washing calves on a daily basis and recently purchased several pigs she hopes to show throughout the summer. While socializing plays a large role in a teenager’s life, social distancing makes it difficult for teenagers to get together and hang out. However, Beare has been able to socialize with her friends through social media platforms such as Snapchat and being able to text and call her friends.   She says, “The advice I would give to other teens during this time is to find something to get better at, enjoy the time that you get to spend with your family, and do the things that you were too busy to ever do before the coronavirus pandemic. We must realize that we are living through history, and we must make the most of it.”   On the other side of the state, Sturgis Brown High School senior Kylie Shaw has also been adjusting to a different life. Shaw has been transitioning her routine to balance school and life on the ranch. “I try to either go help with chores in the morning and do homework in the afternoon or do all my schoolwork right away in the morning and go outside in the afternoons,” Shaw explains. “I have been helping my dad and uncle with calving, chores in the morning, night checks and pulling calves.”   Not only does Shaw help outside around the ranch, she is also helping her mom in the house with various tasks and she is working on learning new skills with her time at home.   “One of my friends and I have been trying to learn to do the splits over quarantine. We aren’t very good at it yet, but the plan is to have it perfected by the end of quarantine!” says Shaw.   Shaw has been using social media to stay in contact with her friends and enjoys the extra time that she gets to spend with her family, especially her grandparents. Shaw advises teens to just stay home.   “Many teens are still going out and hanging out with friends. Too many of them are doing this and should follow the quarantine rules and take it more seriously. If they would stay home, we could let this virus settle down, so that we can move on and start opening things up,” she concludes. Kimball High School senior Jessica Kott is utilizing her quarantine time on the ranch to share leadership lessons with other youth. Kott has created a Virtual Leadership Academy as part of her duties as a state 4-H Ambassador. She emails out weekly lessons for youth to read and discuss to help grow their leadership skills. Youth can also watch brief TED Talks with a leadership focus at listenlearnlead4h.weebly.com.     Service opportunities for youth and adults during Covid-19 pandemic   Dedicating your efforts to helping others, can also boost your own well-being and feeling of purpose during this time of isolation. How might you provide help, while minimizing physical contact with others? Here are actions to consider:   1.      Be encouraging. •   Share signs of encouragement in your window or yard to help uplift the spirits of others. •   Write positive and hopeful messages with chalk at the park.   2.      Donate if you are able. •      Local food pantries are very much in need of food or monetary donations. •     If you have extra books for kids/families drop them off at little free libraries (or laundromats) or offer them to others via Facebook.   3.      Get involved with an activity. •     Pick up litter at the city park, in a school parking lot, or along a road ditch. •     Tutor another student, relative or friend via Zoom or FaceTime •     Reach out regularly during the week and visit with friends and elderly family members to minimize loneliness/depression   4.      Seek out opportunities online, several offer free mailing labels. •     Refill empty boxes with clothing and other donation items and send them to charities. Visit: givebackbox.com to learn more. •     Donate blue jeans to be used for insulation to: bluejeansgogreen.org •      Play educational games at freerice.com and food donations will be made to others in need around the world. •     Join charitymiles.org and accumulate points for your miles walked or jogged. Monetary donations will then be made to the charity you choose. •     Recycle household items through: www.terracycle.com  

The vapor industry should take responsibility for the waste it generates. By Michael McGrady Regulators across the United States are moving to reduce the waste brought on by e-cigarettes and vaporizers. Joseph Hubbard, a spokesperson for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), one of the agencies overseeing hazardous waste disposal, says that there are specific criteria to dispose of product waste responsibly. In the real world, ultimately, e-cigarette waste disposal is the obligation of the manufacturer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) even requires producers to conduct environmental impact studies as part of their premarket tobacco product applications before it allows vaporizers on the market. Hubbard notes that vapor products are likely to be subject to the same waste rules and guidelines in place for lithium-ion batteries in the retail environment. “When lithium-ion batteries are removable from the e-cigarettes, [the] EPA recommends that the batteries be recycled or disposed of through special battery or electronic recycling disposal programs,” he says. Vaporizer batteries and electronic components should be left at legal receptacles. The nicotine in the e-cigarette is more complicated. Hubbard recommends that companies use existing hazardous waste collection options, such as pharmaceutical take-back events or household hazardous waste collection. “If no take-back program is available for the nicotine pods or e-juice portion of the e-cigarette, [the] EPA recommends that this waste be mixed with an undesirable substance and placed in the household trash,” he says. Vapor waste products are also subject to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste regulations. The RCRA gives the EPA the ultimate authority to control hazardous waste “from the cradle to [the] grave.” This includes waste generated during manufacturing, transit, treatment, storage and disposal. Additionally, e-cigarette hazardous waste is regulated by “who” is disposing of or recycling the product, according to Hubbard. “Any nonhousehold facility that generates hazardous waste, including retailers of e-cigarettes, is regulated under [the] RCRA,” he says. At state and local levels, environmental regulators are also working to curtail vapor product waste. A recent Capitol News Illinois (CNI) article discussed the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s (IEPA) efforts to respond to what it characterizes as the next vaping crisis: toxic waste. The idea for the policy investigation began when IEPA employee James Jennings decided to research the waste reduction and compliance policies related to e-cigarettes. “Even though [vaping] is advertised as a relatively innocuous alternative to smoking, there are hazardous waste, universal waste and plastics components of this that have real effects downstream,” Jennings states in his report. According to him, the problem requires the industry and authorities to reform their current waste management practices. The industry’s role The vapor industry is keen to reduce its environmental impact. Many companies, including large tobacco firms that sell vapor products, have incorporated environmental protection into their corporate social responsibility programs. The world’s largest publicly traded tobacco firm, Philip Morris International (PMI), for instance, has stated it will comply with all recommended governmental and industrial standards. For many years, PMI has been included on the Climate A-list, a ranking put together by CDP Worldwide that discloses the climate justice efforts of cities and corporations. Altria Group, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco and Imperial Brands are also listed on the Climate A-list. Katerina Zizlavska I Dreamstime.com Smaller companies are also doing their share. GreenSmartLiving, an e-cigarette distributor, for example, takes pride in standing for climate justice—and it does so without the billions of dollars that the larger firms have at their disposal. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, GreenSmartLiving’s vaporizers and disposable pod products are all recyclable. The company also focuses on promoting smoke-free products and has an environmental business model. “We feel that we are at a crucial point regarding our environment,” says Randon Jorgensen, director of digital marketing for GreenSmartLiving. According to its website, GreenSmartLiving’s corporate responsibility includes philanthropic endeavors such as donating to environmental charities. “We must look out for future generations so that they can experience and appreciate the same things [as] previous generations,” Jorgensen says. “Our goal has been to help in any way we can. GreenSmartLiving was developed to create quality alternatives for adult smokers while giving back to the planet and reducing waste.” For every online purchase, GreenSmartLiving donates a tree to the Trees for the Future initiative. To date, the company has given more than 71,897 trees, according to Jorgensen. GreenSmartLiving also donates to other environmental nongovernmental organizations. Jorgensen says that the company provides its e-commerce customers a 20 percent discount on future orders if they send their used products back for proper disposal through the company’s waste reduction and recycling program. “We offer recycling programs to our online consumers as well as our retail chains,” he says. “Over the past decade, we have recycled over 1 million cartridges. As a result, we potentially have helped remove over 24 million [cigarette] butts from the environment.” A private sector solution? GreenSmartLiving has challenged the environmental practices of other industry leaders, including the large vapor and traditional tobacco companies, according to Jorgensen. He says GreenSmartLiving stands out from the crowd with its unique approach to waste management. “We have never targeted children or nonsmokers; we simply want to offer another alternative to smoking and one that allows you to control your nicotine intake by giving options to work your way down to zero nicotine if you so choose,” Jorgensen says. There are also companies outside the traditional vapor industry that want to help curb e-cigarette waste. TerraCycle, a waste and recycling management company in Trenton, New Jersey, for example, develops and sells an environmentally friendly electronic cigarette waste disposal box—the Zero Waste Box. “We’ve seen a pronounced increase in sales for the electronic cigarette Zero Waste Box,” says Alex Payne, a TerraCycle publicist. “Considering vaporizers’ surge in popularity in the recent years, more and more consumers are beginning to become concerned with the waste produced by these devices, especially the all-in-one units that contain a battery and e-liquid that are disposed of after a single use.” TerraCycle offers a convenient recycling program for nicotine vaporizers and components, according to Payne. If the vaping trend continues, he says, manufacturers and retailers should implement their own recycling solutions to meet the environmental challenge presented by vapor product waste.

The cheerful, singing voice inside your musical “Happy Birthday” card is enough to strike horror in the heart of your local recycler.   The musical cards, which play a recording when opened, look like plain cardboard, making them easy to accidentally throw in the recycling bin. But experts say the insides are laced with cheap electronics and toxic batteries – making them a nightmare to dispose of.   Such cards are just one example of what recyclers say is a growing trend in mixing different materials to create new types of products and packaging, which is making the work of recovering reusable products much harder.   “I call them ‘horrible hybrids’,” said Heidi Sanborn, who heads up the National Stewardship Action Council, a network of groups that seeks to get manufacturers to take responsibility for the proper disposal of the products they sell. “They are made of multiple materials or materials that are impossible to recycle. It’s a mushing of things.”   Discarded single-use plastics have become an international environmental flashpoint, as they have turned up in the bellies of birds and fish, flooded pristine beaches in remote countries with litter and even been detected in microscopic quantities in rainwater. Plastic products designed to be used for a few minutes can take decades or longer to decompose.   Studies have also shown the proliferation of single-use plastic is accelerating climate change through greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of its lifecycle. While environmental groups fighting to reduce the use of throwaway plastics have gained visibility in the last few years, the oil industry is investing heavily in a huge surge of plastic production – which the industry expects to grow by 40% by 2030. The increase in plastics production is to be fueled by the ultra-cheap shale gas flowing from the US fracking boom. The petro-chemical industry has already invested $200 billion to build new cracking plants that separate ethane from gas to produce the ethylene needed to make plastics. Another $100 billion in investments is planned.   Industry often points to recycling as the solution to all those new plastics. Yet only a fraction of plastic products end up recycled, a problem that was exacerbated when China shut its doors in 2018 to the deluge of plastics from other countries that it had previously been recycling.   The US municipalities and recyclers are scrambling to increase the amount of recycling they can do domestically. But these new formulations of hybrid packaging – items mixing materials like foil, paper and sometimes multiple types of plastics – stymie recycling solutions and mostly just end up in the trash.   Examples include shoes and clothing embedded with electronics; the increasingly popular flexible plastic pouches used to package things like detergent pods, rice and baby food; and recyclable bottles and cans tightly wrapped in extra plastic labeling.  

Tiny batteries

  Singing cards and other products with tiny electronics inside them are especially vexing to recyclers. Not only do they include toxic electronic waste, but when the small batteries get crushed in the machinery inside recycling plants, they have been frequently known to cause fires.   “One of the biggest problems for recyclers right now is all the products containing lithium ion batteries, such as the singing cards, balloons and other novelty products,” said Kate Bailey, the director of research at Eco-Cycle, a Boulder, Colorado, recycler. “These batteries can spark easily when they get caught in the processing equipment or run over by a front-end loader, and these sparks can lead to disastrous fires in the recycling center.”   Recyclers are urging manufacturers to simplify the products they make to make it easy to recycle them. But they say consumers can also help by searching for more recyclable products – and then voting with their dollars.   Bad: singing greeting cards Better: regular cardboard cards Best: cards made from recycled paper or E-cards   Bad: musical mylar balloons Better: colorful pinwheels Best: edible bouquets   Bad: tennis shoes with light-up wheels Better: regular tennis shoes Best: shoes made of natural or recycled materials  

Plastic pouches

  Another growing menace for recyclers are the plastic pouches increasingly used to hold everything from laundry detergent pods to cereals and juices. This flexible packaging is made with many thin layers of different types and colors of plastic and is sometimes layered with foil and wax.   Manufacturers and plastic producers tout these pouches for making packages smaller, reducing shipping costs and increasing the shelf life of foods. “A few thin, carefully chosen layers mean more value, less footprint,” says a video by the plastic producer lobbying group, the American Chemistry Council, promoting such pouches.   But recyclers say they are pretty much impossible to recycle. And they are apt to end up in the ocean and take decades to biodegrade. When choosing laundry detergent, they say, consumers might look for products in unlined boxes or try new formulations such as concentrated detergent strips, which require no plastic packaging.   Bad: detergent pods packaged in film plastic bag Better: detergent in recyclable see-thru plastic jugs or cardboard box Best: laundry detergent strips   Bad: Baby food sold in plastic pouches Better: The old recyclable glass jars Best: Make your own from fresh fruits and vegetables  

Plastic labels

Another bugaboo for recyclers is the increasing use of non-recyclable wrappers around perfectly recyclable bottles and cans. For instance most spray cleaners come in bottles made of high-density polyethylene, which can be readily recycled. But first consumers must remove the spraytops, as they are made from different plastics and are not recyclable. Then consumers must find a way to pry off the brightly-colored, printed plastic wraps that packagers are increasingly wrapping around bottles to make the labeling more attractive.   “Who does all that? Nobody,” said Sanborn. “We’ve made recycling too complicated. Who has the time to read a manual for everything they get rid of?”   Instead consumers can look for clear-colored or white bottles with the labeling printed on the bottle itself. It’s even better if they choose brands committed to using recycled plastic to make these bottles, such as Method cleaning products. Another great option is for customers to mix their own cleaners and reuse the plastic bottles.   Bad: plastic spray bottle wrapped with an extra layer of printed plastic Better: white or transparent bottle without the extra wrap Best: make your own cleaner and refill the bottles   Bad: beer cans with plastic wraps or vinyl stickers Better: regular, very recyclable cans   Sanborn says that the best recycling outcomes happen when companies pay to create programs to make sure the waste from their products gets recycled in the end. Such programs are often mandatory in other countries. In the US, a few companies are promoting this type of effort voluntarily, such as a program to recycle plastic disposable razors coordinated by the company Gillete in partnership with the recycling enterprise, Terracycle. The program allows consumers to mail in their razors to be recycled.   “We should have it so these companies have to have an end-of-life system for all their products,” said Sanborn. “That’s producer responsibility.”    

The cheerful, singing voice inside your musical “Happy Birthday” card is enough to strike horror in the heart of your local recycler.   The musical cards, which play a recording when opened, look like plain cardboard, making them easy to accidentally throw in the recycling bin. But experts say the insides are laced with cheap electronics and toxic batteries – making them a nightmare to dispose of.   Such cards are just one example of what recyclers say is a growing trend in mixing different materials to create new types of products and packaging, which is making the work of recovering reusable products much harder.   “I call them ‘horrible hybrids’,” said Heidi Sanborn, who heads up the National Stewardship Action Council, a network of groups that seeks to get manufacturers to take responsibility for the proper disposal of the products they sell. “They are made of multiple materials or materials that are impossible to recycle. It’s a mushing of things.”   Discarded single-use plastics have become an international environmental flashpoint, as they have turned up in the bellies of birds and fish, flooded pristine beaches in remote countries with litter and even been detected in microscopic quantities in rainwater. Plastic products designed to be used for a few minutes can take decades or longer to decompose.   Studies have also shown the proliferation of single-use plastic is accelerating climate change through greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of its lifecycle. While environmental groups fighting to reduce the use of throwaway plastics have gained visibility in the last few years, the oil industry is investing heavily in a huge surge of plastic production – which the industry expects to grow by 40% by 2030. The increase in plastics production is to be fueled by the ultra-cheap shale gas flowing from the US fracking boom. The petro-chemical industry has already invested $200 billion to build new cracking plants that separate ethane from gas to produce the ethylene needed to make plastics. Another $100 billion in investments is planned.   Industry often points to recycling as the solution to all those new plastics. Yet only a fraction of plastic products end up recycled, a problem that was exacerbated when China shut its doors in 2018 to the deluge of plastics from other countries that it had previously been recycling.   The US municipalities and recyclers are scrambling to increase the amount of recycling they can do domestically. But these new formulations of hybrid packaging – items mixing materials like foil, paper and sometimes multiple types of plastics – stymie recycling solutions and mostly just end up in the trash.   Examples include shoes and clothing embedded with electronics; the increasingly popular flexible plastic pouches used to package things like detergent pods, rice and baby food; and recyclable bottles and cans tightly wrapped in extra plastic labeling.  

Tiny batteries

  Singing cards and other products with tiny electronics inside them are especially vexing to recyclers. Not only do they include toxic electronic waste, but when the small batteries get crushed in the machinery inside recycling plants, they have been frequently known to cause fires.   “One of the biggest problems for recyclers right now is all the products containing lithium ion batteries, such as the singing cards, balloons and other novelty products,” said Kate Bailey, the director of research at Eco-Cycle, a Boulder, Colorado, recycler. “These batteries can spark easily when they get caught in the processing equipment or run over by a front-end loader, and these sparks can lead to disastrous fires in the recycling center.”   Recyclers are urging manufacturers to simplify the products they make to make it easy to recycle them. But they say consumers can also help by searching for more recyclable products – and then voting with their dollars.   Bad: singing greeting cards Better: regular cardboard cards Best: cards made from recycled paper or E-cards   Bad: musical mylar balloons Better: colorful pinwheels Best: edible bouquets   Bad: tennis shoes with light-up wheels Better: regular tennis shoes Best: shoes made of natural or recycled materials  

Plastic pouches

  Another growing menace for recyclers are the plastic pouches increasingly used to hold everything from laundry detergent pods to cereals and juices. This flexible packaging is made with many thin layers of different types and colors of plastic and is sometimes layered with foil and wax.   Manufacturers and plastic producers tout these pouches for making packages smaller, reducing shipping costs and increasing the shelf life of foods. “A few thin, carefully chosen layers mean more value, less footprint,” says a video by the plastic producer lobbying group, the American Chemistry Council, promoting such pouches.   But recyclers say they are pretty much impossible to recycle. And they are apt to end up in the ocean and take decades to biodegrade. When choosing laundry detergent, they say, consumers might look for products in unlined boxes or try new formulations such as concentrated detergent strips, which require no plastic packaging.   Bad: detergent pods packaged in film plastic bag Better: detergent in recyclable see-thru plastic jugs or cardboard box Best: laundry detergent strips   Bad: Baby food sold in plastic pouches Better: The old recyclable glass jars Best: Make your own from fresh fruits and vegetables  

Plastic labels

Another bugaboo for recyclers is the increasing use of non-recyclable wrappers around perfectly recyclable bottles and cans. For instance most spray cleaners come in bottles made of high-density polyethylene, which can be readily recycled. But first consumers must remove the spraytops, as they are made from different plastics and are not recyclable. Then consumers must find a way to pry off the brightly-colored, printed plastic wraps that packagers are increasingly wrapping around bottles to make the labeling more attractive.   “Who does all that? Nobody,” said Sanborn. “We’ve made recycling too complicated. Who has the time to read a manual for everything they get rid of?”   Instead consumers can look for clear-colored or white bottles with the labeling printed on the bottle itself. It’s even better if they choose brands committed to using recycled plastic to make these bottles, such as Method cleaning products. Another great option is for customers to mix their own cleaners and reuse the plastic bottles.   Bad: plastic spray bottle wrapped with an extra layer of printed plastic Better: white or transparent bottle without the extra wrap Best: make your own cleaner and refill the bottles   Bad: beer cans with plastic wraps or vinyl stickers Better: regular, very recyclable cans   Sanborn says that the best recycling outcomes happen when companies pay to create programs to make sure the waste from their products gets recycled in the end. Such programs are often mandatory in other countries. In the US, a few companies are promoting this type of effort voluntarily, such as a program to recycle plastic disposable razors coordinated by the company Gillete in partnership with the recycling enterprise, Terracycle. The program allows consumers to mail in their razors to be recycled.   “We should have it so these companies have to have an end-of-life system for all their products,” said Sanborn. “That’s producer responsibility.”      

From the minds that brought you Zotos Professional comes Better Natured, a prestige brand with naturally-derived formulations that are stylist-developed and tested to deliver professional-level performance. The brand launches with a range that consists of a total of 12 haircare and styling products with a color range set to launch in June, all encouraging you to play with your hair and have some “good clean fun” in the process. Tested in a Certified Green Circle Salon, Better Natured strives for only clean, naturally-derived ingredients. The range follows ISO Global Standards and a belief that “clean” means products that have been rigorously tested for efficacy, are compliant with European and North American regulatory standards and are free from 12 ingredient taboos: silicones, parabens, SLS/SLES sulfates (sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate), petrolatum, mineral oil, phthalates, gluten, animal-by-products, chemical sunscreens, microbeads, BPA and formaldehyde-releasing agents. The brand’s vegan formulas contain a triple plant milk blend of tahitian palm, orchid and coconut milk and are never tested on animals. They are packaged in post-consumer recycled PET plastic and made with a synergistic blend of naturally-derived ingredients and clean synthetics to deliver performance. “When our internal incubator team began creating the range, we wanted to ensure the products were as natural as possible without sacrificing performance. To do so, we started the formulation process using just a few active ingredients, and then pulled in the newest high-quality, naturally-derived options available on the market,” commented Better Natured senior research & development director, Marina Azizova. “Better Natured is about good, clean, fun and we want consumers to embrace the freedom of knowing that our clean formulas truly perform, so they can be as creative. as they want.” Celebrity Partnership Coinciding with the launch, Better Natured will be partnering with celebrity hairstylist Marcus Francis as the brand’s lead ambassador. "I love the ease and playful aesthetic of Better Natured. I'm able to use the products on my A-list clients to create beautiful red carpet looks while being confident that anyone watching at home can grab the same products I’ve used and recreate the look. With Better Natured, you know you’re not only creating bold, fun looks but also maintaining healthy-looking hair,” said Francis. Charitable Initiatives Better Natured will also be kicking off several charitable initiatives that will accompany the launch. First, they will be partnering with Keep America Beautiful as a sponsor for the Great American Cleanup, a community improvement program, to beautify local communities through structured service projects and community murals. Second, the brand is working with TerraCycle to announce the Better Natured Recycling Program. This free recycling initiative ensures that packaging for the Better Natured line of hair care products is diverted from the landfill and nationally recyclable. In addition, in light of the current Coronavirus pandemic, Better Natured will be supporting medical workers on the frontlines through a significant product donation of shampoo, conditioner and gloves to both the Stamford Hospital Foundation and to Project Donate Beauty.

Having a coffee machine in your kitchen has many perks: it's much cheaper to make a delicious latte at home rather than nipping into Costa (plus, they're not even open right now!), and a real espresso will always taste better than one made with instant granules. Saying that, we've all experienced that disappointing moment when we go to make ourselves a morning brew only to find we've run out of capsules. To prevent this, we'd recommend investing in a coffee subscription. Whether you're after fresh roasted whole beans for your top-of-the-range bean-to-cup machine, or ultra-convenient Nespresso pods, there are plenty of versatile plans to pick from; many offering rotating bags of top-grade coffee to try, so you don't get bored. Nowadays, pods are much more eco-friendly too, with plenty of options for recycling. All of the options we've listed can be cancelled at any time, so you're not tied down if you feel like switching things up. Many brands offer free delivery, discounted beans or other incentives for signing up, too. So, here's our round up of our favourite at-home coffee subscription services — so you can enjoy a proper cappuccino, even through lockdown.