The more I learn about recycling, the more I lose my illusions.   In the 7Rs of PH Effect for a zero waste lifestyle, there is Recycling. However, during my conferences and workshops, I tell people that it is a last resort, which is in the hierarchy just before the trash. I tell them that there are other alternatives, most of the time.   But sometimes it is faster and easier to get a product packaged in a recyclable container.   Then there was this idea of launching the project to recover the Halloween candy packaging and send it to TerraCycle, which recycles it. An idea which had a huge success and which still makes small ones today. Schools and businesses across Quebec have decided to follow suit and get the boxes. Some municipalities are even taking steps to join. A success you say? But with this project, I also saw the other side of the coin. Despite the clear indications, we find everything in these boxes and bags that we collected. Jars with a yogurt base, apple hearts, half-eaten candies, candies still wrapped, candy wrappings completely stuck in unidentified substances…  

It gave me a good idea of what could end up in sorting centers in Quebec.

I continued to read about sorting centers, about recycling. I had discussions on the subject with people around me. Each time, I realized that recycling is not so effective and that it is a very small dressing on a very big boo.   Recycling helps to reduce awareness.   But recycling requires so much energy and resources! And when I learned that we often send our materials to be recycled in China and elsewhere in the world, the surprise was as immense as the ships that transport them. Is our recycling solution to send our stuff to the other side of the world? Yes, I was naive.   So there you go, I made the decision to put my recycling bin on a diet. Worse, I'm going to make him do a long fast. Knowing that too much of what goes to recycling will end up in the wild, I prefer to reduce it at the source more than ever.   I know, it's drastic. Am I going to throw my recyclable stuff in the trash? Of course not ! But I will pay triple attention to what I consume, what I use. I will stop eating certain foods that are not sold in bulk. And I'm not going to eat candies other than loose ones anymore. Anyway, the mere sight of another package of candy makes me want to eat it!

BERLIN, Md.- The Town of Berlin says it has purchased a new solution to cigarette butts piling up in the downtown area.   The town has purchased a new solution called "Cigarette Buttlers." They are essentially 15 small black boxes that resemble bird boxes attached to poles.   The town has bought about 15 new canisters and seven have been installed already in the downtown area.   Ivy Wells, with the town's Economic and Community Development, says the purchases were all apart of a grant the town applied for and received.   "Berlin is a sustainable community so what I did last year was I wrote and received a $10,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development," Well said.   Only $2,000 were used for these Cigarette Buttlers though; the remaining portion went toward new trash cans and recycle receptacles.   Through a company called TerraCycle, the butts will be recycled and turned into things people can purchase like benches.   The town will collect these materials and send them directly to the company.

BERLIN, Md.- The Town of Berlin says it has purchased a new solution to cigarette butts piling up in the downtown area.   The town has purchased a new solution called "Cigarette Buttlers." They are essentially 15 small black boxes that resemble bird boxes attached to poles.   The town has bought about 15 new canisters and seven have been installed already in the downtown area.   Ivy Wells, with the town's Economic and Community Development, says the purchases were all apart of a grant the town applied for and received.   "Berlin is a sustainable community so what I did last year was I wrote and received a $10,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development," Well said.   Only $2,000 were used for these Cigarette Buttlers though; the remaining portion went toward new trash cans and recycle receptacles.   Through a company called TerraCycle, the butts will be recycled and turned into things people can purchase like benches.   The town will collect these materials and send them directly to the company.  

 

A Albéa produziu para a Colgate-Palmolive um tubo de creme dental fabricado em HDPE. Com o uso desse material, o produto será o primeiro do gênero a entrar para o rol das embalagens recicláveis. Após um processo de desenvolvimento que durou mais de cinco anos, o tubo foi lançado no Reino Unido com a marca Smile for Good, da Colgate. Nos Estados Unidos, ele será lançado em meados de 2020 com o creme dental Tom’s of Maine.

 

Juntar esponjas de cozinha usadas para o programa nacional de reciclagem da Terracycle - Scotch Brite.

Contact lenses can be a lifesaver, but once they end up in the trash, they tend to do more harm than good.   That’s why the international recycling company TerraCycle launched Canada’s first ever contact lens recycling program this week, with two locations in the Tri-Cities: Port Moody Eye Care on Ioco Road and XO OPTICS on Johnson Street in Coquitlam.     Every location participating in the program will accept any brand of disposable contact lens, blister pack packaging and the cardboard boxes in which they are sold. “Contact lenses and blister packs are considered non-recyclable through municipal facilities because they are too small to be captured by standard sorting machinery,” said a spokesperson for the company in a press release.   The TerraCycle urges recyclers to ensure all excess liquids are removed and the packaging and used products dried before they are turned in.

L.O.L Surprise! kicked off the first day of Nuremberg Toy Fair with a surprise announcement:  MGA Entertainment Inc. (MGAE), in partnership with international recycling company TerraCycle, announced the expansion of the L.O.L. Surprise! Recycling Program, which will now include nine countries around the world.  MGAE is also planning for a year of more eco-friendly product surprise announcements, including news related to packaging, product, and more.   “As a leader in the toy and entertainment business we understand that we must lead the industry,” said Isaac Larian, CEO and Founder of MGA Entertainment. “Not only are we looking to make products more sustainable, but we’re giving parents an easy and free way to recycle LOL Surprise! packaging and products around the world.  We need to look to our products to help keep the world healthy and alive for the next generation of fans — this is critical for the company and one that we are focused on as it relates to all aspects of the product lifecycle.  Sustainability is a personal priority and a MGAE commitment.”   In early 2019, MGAE entered into a partnership with TerraCycle after hearing how frustrated fans were regarding differences in recycling programs, which vary from municipality to municipality.  While the L.O.L Surprise! packaging was 100% recyclable, the new L.O.L. Surprise! Recycling Program, launched in conjunction with TerraCycle, removed all the barriers to fans. In addition, MGAE arranged for free shipping on all shipments and opened the program to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization. The program allows fans to send all L.O.L. Surprise! packaging and products directly to a knowledgeable source, ensuring items are properly disposed of and recycled. Once collected by TerraCycle, the items are cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products.   On the heels of the program launch in the United States, the L.O.L. Surprise! Recycling Program will be implemented globally, including the following countries:  

• Australia
• Belgium
• Canada
• China
• Germany
• Ireland
• Netherlands
• United Kingdom

  The global program launch with TerraCycle is the beginning of an eco-friendly program that MGAE will be introducing throughout 2020.

Issues such as plastic containers inside boxes remain a talking point when customers go to purchase a product, and some managers say it sometimes turns customers away.   Cannabis suppliers across the country are required by law to present the correct labels and warnings on their products, which takes up space and creates excess packaging.   However, an initiative by a cannabis supplier in Canada has allowed shops across Canada to go green.   Since before shops started to open in the Okanagan, Terracycle, a private U.S. recycling business, partnered with Tweed, a cannabis supplier based out of Ontario, to recycle any and all cannabis packaging purchased from a licensed retailer. Aside from some vape-related products, the program accepts many forms of packaging including outer plastic packaging, inner plastic packaging, tins, joint tubes, plastic bottles, plastic caps, and flexible plastic bags.   The program accepts products from both individuals and retail partners in every province except the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut.   Locally, cardboard Terracycle bins can be seen near the front counter of licensed retail shops. Once a bin is full, retailers package the waste into a box and send it to Terracycle via UPS, where the packaging and plastic is broken down and refurbished into new products.   The four licensed stores in Penticton are among approximately 450 other cannabis stores in partnership with Terracycle.   Spiritleaf owner Matt Bolton said so far, they have shipped approximately 18-20 bins worth of recycled products since they opened in August.   “Packaging has been… one of the biggest complaints that we hear here in the legal market,” he said. “The fact that we do offer that program, we’ve offered it pretty much since the first week of opening; that has been great.”   The Terracycle program accepts most things except for some vaping products such as the batteries and cartridges, however Spiritleaf has taken it upon themselves to offer recycling of this product.   “We’ve basically taken it on ourselves where we said, we’ll hold onto it all, until it’s figured out where they are going to go, and then we will dispose of it properly,” said Bolton.   Cannabis Cottage supervisor Corey Young said the reactions from customers when they find out about the recycling program are very positive. He stated one of the main complaints they receive is also about packaging.   “There is a lot of excess packaging,” he said. “And unfortunately a lot of the companies are slow to come out with new versions. So in the meantime, I believe it’s (Terracycle) essential.”   Although he couldn’t confirm an exact amount, Young estimated they have collected about 800 packages from customers in the past month.   “I think other companies should follow Tweed’s lead in creating their own recycling programs as well,” he said.   In October, the Tweed/TerraCycle program announced the collection of over one million pieces of used cannabis packaging from across the nation, recycling over 22,000 pounds of plastic containers, tubes, and bottles.   Bud-tender at Greenery Cannabis Boutique, Geoffrey Small, said customers seem relieved when they find out what Tweed and Terracycle are doing to help mitigate the issue of excess packaging.   Although some companies package less than other, Green Gaia Cannabis Co. manager Katerina Bakalos said the recycling program is a great service to have, and well-received by customers. So far, Green Gaia has collected thousands of product packages.   In conversations with some licenced producers, Bakalos understands that changes are coming with regards to packaging. This, she explained, is the focus for several producers, now that the 2.0 products, or edibles and concentrates, are on the shelves. In late December, retailers around Canada, including Penticton, started to receive 2.0 cannabis products.   “I’m sure once a few of the producers do it (repackaging), it’s going to start a domino effect,” said Bakalos. “Because I do believe, some of the packaging, people won’t buy it (because) it’s too thick of plastic or too big a box, that kind of thing.”   “Plastic containers within a box, it’s almost like double-packaging.”   Looking forward, all shops expressed their excitement as their first full summer season approaches.  

When Romain Gaillard, founder and CEO of the retailer, saw a blue-to-red visualization created by British scientist Ed Hawkins called Warming Stripes showing yearly increases in average global temperatures from 1850 to 2018 on the cover of The Economist in September, the dire threat of climate change crystallized in his mind. “I was born in 1980, and that’s where it starts to become pinkish and orange. I have two kids. They are 4 and 2. It’s purple red and very dark red in 2015 and 2017, the years they were born. Those are the warmest years ever recorded,” he says. “We all know about global warming, but this was really a big aha moment for me. From then on, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what we could do.”   The Detox Market landed on a comprehensive effort it’s dubbed Sustainability Starts Now kicking off today that encompasses an initiative named Earth CPR to become carbon negative by planting 500,000 trees this year and 2.5 million by 2025 through nonprofit Eden Reforestation Projects, turning its seven stores into hubs for beauty product recycling in partnership with TerraCycle, evaluating operations to diminish its environmental footprint, assembling a selection of eco-friendly products, and putting up posters in lower Manhattan with the Warming Stripes visualization as well as installations in its locations to spur other people to have Gaillard’s aha moment.   “One thing we’ve been great at as a company is to make people aware of toxicity in personal care. Our next mission is to encourage people to switch to sustainable products. It’s clean beauty times 10,” says Gaillard. “When you have this aha moment, there’s no way back from it. I’m not saying that you will suddenly become like Greta Thunberg and travel by bike everywhere, but, with everything you do, you start to pay attention, and it can have a great impact.”         The Detox Market, which plans to open two locations this year, is certainly paying attention to the materials it relies on in an attempt to eliminate excess. For example, it’s swapped out disposable makeup applicators in its stores to bamboo versions, and nixed an insert in the packaging of its body care line Detox Mode to reduce potential waste. To incentivize beauty product recycling, The Detox Market is doling out loyalty points to customers who recycle in its shops. The products they recycle don’t have to be from brands available at The Detox Market. Credo has a similar recycling program.   Inside stores, The Detox Market is spotlighting an array of eco-oriented products from brands including OrganiCup, Meow Meow Tweet, David’s Natural Toothpaste, Erbaviva, Olas Oral Care, Stasher and Jungle Straws. It’s placing a refill station with Detox Mode hemp soap in stores, and selling a sustainability set for $30 featuring Stasher, Jungle Straws and Baggu. Gaillard says, “We curated beauty products along with products that aren’t beauty-related, but are products you use in your daily routine that we felt are great.” The Detox Market isn’t the first retailer to edit a collection of green products. Net-a-Porter’s Net Sustain assortment of 27 beauty and 45 fashion brands focuses on sustainable merchandise, and Farfetch has launched a sustainable category.         Gaillard estimates The Detox Market will spend roughly 2% of its revenues this year on activities to become carbon negative and closer to 10% on advertising to promote Sustainability Starts Now. “If just a few big companies follow what we are doing, it could make a very interesting change,” says Gaillard. “If we are planting half a million trees, that’s as if Ulta was planting half a billion trees, and Amazon was planting 10 billion trees. For us, it’s a very aggressive number.”   Asked about expected sales results from the Sustainability Starts Now effort, Gaillard responds, “I don’t know what we are going to see. I think we will see a lot of visibility. By visibility, it’s not necessarily for Detox Market, but about this problem to bring that to the center of the discussion. One thing we are good at is being loud about a specific problem. We were very loud about toxicity in personal care—and we still are—but my goal is to make as much noise as we possibly can now about sustainability.”         In their purchasing behavior, Gaillard doesn’t believe customers currently prioritize the eco-friendliness of products. However, he projects they will begin to prioritize it in the near future. “If you look at the Stripes and you fast forward five to 10 years, it’s clear it’s going to be beyond a priority,” he says. “There will be a time when consumers ask for complete transparency on the impact of companies on their communities and on the planet.”   To improve transparency at The Detox Market, the retailer is developing sustainability guidelines for the brands it stocks. “It’s not a black or white type of situation, that’s why it is complex. It would be hard to say, ‘No more plastic,’ and tell all the brands, ‘You have 60 days to remove plastic.’ We are working on what to do. My idea is to really encourage brands to join our movement and to find better solutions,” says Gaillard. “Packaging for small brands is complicated because the MOQs [minimum order requirements] are high. It can be that some small brands work together or work with us to get to higher MOQs, and we together convince packaging companies to work on sustainable solutions.”

Ações sustentáveis para o meio ambiente e o nosso papel com relação ao tema é um assunto cada vez mais debatido na atualidade. Perceber qual a nossa relação e compromisso com a natureza é o caminho para transformar a nossa triste realidade sobre a pauta. Estudos apontam que o ser humano produz aproximadamente 1,5 kg de lixo por dia. Se fizermos uma conta rápida sobre esse dado, comparado a extensão territorial da Terra, percebemos que os números não fecham e em pouco tempo estaríamos sufocados pelo lixo e suas consequências quando descartados de maneira errônea. Mas quais medidas podem ser tomadas para que isso não aconteça?