More people are starting to reckon with the fact that climate change is having an irrevocable effect on the world. In October, UN issued its terrifying reminder that we need to drastically change our lifestyles in order to reduce global warming. In February, the Australian government recognized a small rodent as extinct, and it was dubbed the first to disappear from our planet as a result of climate change (although more species could fall under that category that haven’t been closely studied). Currently, the Bahamas are being devastated by Hurricane Dorian, a symptom of the fact that, as one climate scientist says, “Human-caused climate change is visibly intensifying hurricanes and increasing the damage they are doing.”   And that’s gotten us to talk about Earth’s future and how we as humans impact it in a way that’s not just viewing reality as a far-off doomsday scenario. But now that our society is so dependent on cars and those ubiquitous plastic bags, it often seems like a near-impossible task to extricate ourselves from the planet-warming mess we’ve created.   But local companies aren’t ready to give up yet. A few have come up with ways to reduce our use of that fossil-fuel-sucking foe, plastic. (Many plastic products are made using a byproduct of fossil fuel fracking.)   Let’s start with Dropps, a Philly company that thinks about laundry from a sustainable perspective. Having already created laundry detergent pods (think: the little cleaning packets you put in your dishwasher but for your clothes instead of your dishes) to conserve water and implemented compostable packaging, Dropps just launched a partnership with ocean conservation nonprofit Oceana to raise awareness of the plastic problem. It’s a mix of education (example: running an online infographic of the life cycle of a family dinner table and how plastic’s involved) and actionable tips for how to cut down on plastic consumption. For instance, Dropps and Oceana will provide suggestions for one thing to eliminate at a time, like supermarket bags or straws, and shopping lists that provide plastic-free alternatives to common household products, such as toothpaste and Ziploc bags. “We as a society have SAD — sustainability anxiety disorder,” says Dropps CEO Jonathan Propper. “We get this stuff, and we don’t know what to do with it — ‘Does it go in this pile or that pile?’ We’re trying to give consumers the most convenient way of being sustainable, so they don’t have to think about it.”   Or take Ola Beauty, a new shop from former Best of Philly makeup artist Aleksandra Ambrozy that exclusively carries makeup and skincare lines with low to no plastic. While shelf life and natural ingredients are certainly key factors in selecting her products, Ambrozy’s time spent in Hawaii, where she witnessed plastic pollution in the ocean and on the beach, compelled her to double down when it came to plastic usage specifically. “[The plastic] is just part of the environment there now,” Ambrozy says regarding Hawaii. “It really freaked me out, so I tried to go as plastic-free as possible. I’m using the store to show other people that they can do that, too.”   One of her favorite lines right now is Elate Cosmetics, a Canada-based line of foundations, blush, eye makeup, and lipsticks that uses non-toxic, organic ingredients and refillable, compostable compacts.  Another is Honua Hawaiian Skincare, which hails from, you guessed it, Hawaii; Ola Beauty carries their reef-safe mineral sunscreens.   Ambrozy also hopes to add recycling bins from Trenton-based TerraCycle, which collects items that your standard city recycling unit doesn’t allow (many of them plastic) and partners with other companies to get them turned into new products.

TORONTO – TerraCycle has launched the 2019 “Collection Craze” recycling challenge in partnership with the Schneiders Lunch Mate and Maple Leaf Simply Lunch brands.   Designed to educate school students, teachers and communities about maintaining healthy bodies and a healthy environment, participants compete to win a share of $3,700 in TerraCycle points for their school.   Starting September 1, schools located throughout Canada that participate in the Schneiders Lunch Mate Recycling Program have been eligible to compete for a share of $3,700 in TerraCycle points that are redeemable for cash payment to an organization or school of their choice. The program is a free, national initiative hosted by TerraCycle and the Schneiders Lunch Mate and Maple Leaf Simply Lunch brands.   Through November 31, participating schools collect waste from their Schneiders Lunch Mate and Maple Leaf Simply Lunch kits including plastic film, content packaging and plastic trays and send them to TerraCycle in exchange for Credits.   Also, during the “Collection Craze” contest period, students, teachers and the surrounding community are encouraged to vote for their school of choice.  The contest will be judged based on the quantity of recycled packaging collected and the number of Credits earned during the contest period. The top 10 schools that earn the most Credits as of November 31, 2019 will win a share of $3,700 in TerraCycle points.   “The Collection Craze offers schools a viable way to divert waste from landfills, engage their communities and be rewarded for their effort,” explained Tom Szaky, TerraCycle founder and CEO.   “By participating, students gain valuable knowledge about sustainability, how to make a difference within their school and community and how to protect the environment through recycling.”   The Schneiders Lunch Mate Recycling Program is an ongoing activity, open to any individual, family, school or community group. For each piece of waste sent in using a pre-paid shipping label, participants earn points that can be translated into charitable prizes or cash donations to the school or charity of their choice.   For instructions on how to sign up for the “Collection Craze” contest please visit http://www.terracycle.ca/en-CA/contests/schneiders-lunchmate-collection-craze.   To learn more or get involved with the Schneiders Lunch Mate Recycling Program, please visit https://www.terracycle.com/en-CA/brigades/schneiders-lunchmate-en-ca.  

Schneiders^® Lunch Mate^™ & Maple Leaf ® Simply Lunch™ Brands Partner With TerraCycle^® to  Award Schools a Share of $3,700 for Charity

  Toronto, Ontario, Canada – September 4, 2019 –TerraCycle today announced the 2019 “Collection Craze” recycling challenge in partnership with the Schneiders Lunch Mate and Maple Leaf Simply Lunch brands. Designed to educate school students, teachers and communities about maintaining healthy bodies and a healthy environment, participants compete to win a share of $3,700 in TerraCycle points for their school. Starting September 1, schools located throughout Canada that participate in the Schneiders Lunch Mate Recycling Program, a free, national program hosted by TerraCycle and the Schneiders Lunch Mate and Maple Leaf Simply Lunch brands, are eligible to compete for a share of $3,700 in TerraCycle points that are redeemable for cash payment to an organization or school of their choice.   Through November 31, participating schools collect waste from their Schneiders Lunch Mate and Maple Leaf Simply Lunch kits including plastic film, content packaging and plastic trays and send them to TerraCycle in exchange for Credits.  Also, during the “Collection Craze” contest period, students, teachers and the surrounding community are encouraged to vote for their school of choice once a day during the promotion timeline on the contest page. Each vote will count as one (1) Credit. The contest will be judged based on the quantity of recycled packaging collected and the number of Credits earned during the contest period. The top 10 schools that earn the most Credits as of November 31, 2019 will win a share of $3,700 in TerraCycle points.   For a chance to win an extra $1,000 in TerraCycle points, participating schools are invited to enter in a photo sweepstakes by submitting a photo of their recycling bin or station. All photos must be submitted via TerraCycle’s sweepstakes form.   “The Collection Craze offers schools a viable way to divert waste from landfills, engage their communities and be rewarded for their effort,” explained Tom Szaky, TerraCycle Founder and CEO. “By participating, students gain valuable knowledge about sustainability, how to make a difference within their school and community and how to protect the environment through recycling.”   The Schneiders Lunch Mate Recycling Program is an ongoing activity, open to any individual, family, school or community group.  For each piece of waste sent in using a pre-paid shipping label, participants earn points that can be translated into charitable prizes or cash donations to the school or charity of their choice.   For instructions on how to sign up for the “Collection Craze” contest please visit http://www.terracycle.ca/en-CA/contests/schneiders-lunchmate-collection-craze. To learn more or get involved with the Schneiders Lunch Mate Recycling Program, please visit https://www.terracycle.com/en-CA/brigades/schneiders-lunchmate-en-ca.

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• More than 381 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide each year, and plastic is now found in our soil, lakes, rivers and oceans, as well as in the bodies of humans and wildlife
• A key plastic pollutant you may never have heard of is nurdles — tiny plastic pellets that form the raw material for plastic products of all kinds
• Ranging in size from microscopic grains to millimeter-sized pellets, nurdles are the second-largest direct source of microplastic pollution to the ocean by weight
• British production companies lose somewhere between 5 billion and 53 billion pellets per year through accidental spills during production, transport, processing and waste management procedures
• In addition to their inability to degrade, nurdles (like other microplastics) act like sponges for toxic chemicals. Birds, fish, whales and filter-feeding marine life eat these toxic nurdles, which look much like floating fish eggs

  The looming threat of plastic pollution is undoubtedly one of mankind’s greatest challenges. More than 381 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide each year,¹ and plastic is now found in our soil, lakes, rivers and oceans, as well as in the bodies of humans and wildlife.   According to Environmental Health News,² “Two-thirds of all plastic ever produced remains in the environment,” which helps explain why tap water, bottled water,³ sea salt⁴ and a variety of seafood⁵ all come with a “side order” of microplastic.   Remarkably, while most media attention has been focused on plastic pollution in the ocean, estimates suggest four to 23 times greater amounts are released on land than the ocean by way of biosolid fertilizers.⁶   A primary problem is the fact that plastic can take up to 1,000 years to break down. Researchers estimate a single plastic coffee pod may take up to 500 years, the duration of the Roman Empire.⁷ As reported by Environmental Health News, there are health risks associated with each phase in the life cycle of plastic:⁸  

• Fossil fuel extraction results in air and water pollution and a number of other direct effects to communities, such as increased traffic and pipeline construction (more than 99% of plastic comes from fossil fuels)
• Refining and producing plastic resins and additives releases cancer-causing compounds and other toxics, some of which "can be difficult to detect" as they "are colorless and tend to have mild-to-no odor”
• Plastic products and packaging, when in the consumer's hands, lead to inhaled or ingested toxic and/or plastic particles
• Plastic incineration releases toxic compounds
• The degradation of plastic leads to microplastics getting into people, wildlife, soil and water

 

Nurdles — A key plastic pollutant

  As explained in the featured TED-Ed video by Kim Preshoff, a key plastic pollutant you may never have heard of is nurdles — tiny plastic pellets that form the raw material for plastic products of all kinds. Ranging in size from microscopic grains to millimeter-sized pellets, nurdles are now found in lakes, rivers and oceans across the globe.   As noted in the video, they’re unable to biodegrade, allowing them to persist and accumulate in the environment for generations to come. Being raw material, just how do these pellets get into the environment? It turns out there are countless ways for the pellets to escape, and spills have been found to occur throughout the entire manufacturing chain.   While research is limited, one study⁹ estimates British production companies lose somewhere between 5 billion and 53 billion pellets per year through accidental spills during production, transport, processing and waste management procedures.   Disturbingly, loopholes in wastewater permits have allowed companies to wash these plastic pellets into waterways for years on end.¹⁰ In fact, California is the only U.S. state that regulates plastic pellet pollution specifically.^11,12 Alas, understaffing means enforcement is lax.  

Nurdles are everywhere

  As reported by the Environmental Investigation Agency,¹³ a shipping accident involving two vessels in 2017 resulted in the spillage of 49 metric tons of nurdles (some 3.4 billion individual pellets) into the sea. An estimated 1,243 miles of South African coastline was subsequently coated with plastic pellets.   Similarly, Hong Kong’s Lamma island was inundated with nurdles in 2012 after a typhoon knocked containers off the shipping vessel.¹⁴ According to Danish estimates, nurdles are “the second-largest direct source of microplastic pollution to the ocean by weight.”¹⁵   Like so much other ocean trash, the nurdles end up congregating in ocean gyres. There are five gyres around the globe, but the primary collection point for nurdles is the Pacific Ocean gyre, colloquially known as the great Pacific garbage patch.¹⁶   In addition to their inability to degrade, nurdles (like other microplastics) act like sponges for toxic chemicals.¹⁷ Bird, fish, whales and filter feeding marine life all end up eating these toxic nurdles, which look much like floating fish eggs.   Aside from their toxic influence, nurdles and other plastic bits can cause starvation as they build up in the stomach, tricking the animal into thinking it’s full. Needless to say, microplastics and their toxins build up the higher in the food chain you go, as smaller sea life is consumed by larger predators.  

Can we end the cycle of plastic pollution?

  How can this toxic cycle be broken? As suggested in the featured video, the best solution would be to eliminate plastics altogether, using a combination of recycling and replacing plastics with paper and glass. Unfortunately, the U.S. is going in the opposite direction, with plans to open more than 300 new plastic factories.¹⁸   As reported by Quartz,¹⁹ oil and gas companies such as Exxon and Shell are shifting toward plastic production as a way to boost growth as natural gas prices decline. A report²⁰ by the Center for International Environmental Law projects production of ethylene and propylene (used in the production of plastic) will grow by 33% to 36% by 2025.   The report²¹ also notes that China is “investing heavily in plastics infrastructure,” as is Europe and the Middle East, and that “this massive expansion in capacity could lock in plastic production for decades, undermining efforts to reduce consumption and reverse the plastics crisis.”   Royal Dutch Shell is currently building a new plastics factory just north of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. As explained in the Quartz article:²²   “The Shell plant will rely on a process known as ‘ethane cracking,’ where ethane gas, once seen as an unusable byproduct of gas extraction, can be molecularly ‘cracked’ — its carbon and hydrogen atoms rearranged — to form ethylene, the main building block of plastic. When completed, the new facility will pump out 1.8 million tons (1.6 metric tons) of plastic each year.”  

You’re eating and inhaling plastic every day

  The enormity of the microplastic pollution problem is demonstrated by studies showing the average person is ingesting and inhaling plastic particles on a daily basis. Most recently, a study commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund and carried out by University of Newcastle, Australia, found people, on average, consume the equivalent weight of one credit card — about 5 grams — of plastic each week.²³   Primary ingestion routes are from water and seafood, according to the report. Other research by the nonprofit journalism organization Orb Media found major bottled water brands like Evian, Aquafina, Dasani and San Pellegrino contained significant amounts of microplastics.²⁴   Similarly, research published in Environmental Science & Technology suggests people drinking bottled water exclusively may ingest more microplastics than those drinking tap water.²⁵   Other recent research²⁶ suggests the average person inhales 11.3 microscopic pieces of plastic each hour. According to co-author Jes Vollertsen,²⁷ “This is the first evidence of human exposure to microplastic through breathing indoor air.”   Plastic particles identified in indoor air include synthetic fibers such as polyester, polyethylene and nylon, and nonsynthetic particles composed of protein and cellulose.²⁸   As in the environment, plastic does not break down in the human body. Many of the chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics are also known to disrupt embryonic development, dysregulate hormones and gene expression, and cause organ damage. They also have been linked to obesity, heart disease and cancer.   So, while researchers claim the health effects of all this plastic in our diet is still unknown, it seems logical to suspect it can wreak havoc on public health, especially younger people who are exposed right from birth.   As Pete Myers, Ph.D., founder and chief scientist of the nonprofit Environmental Health Sciences and an adjunct professor of chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University told Consumer Reports, “There cannot be no effect.”²⁹ Consumer Report adds:³⁰   “There is evidence,³¹ at least in animals, that microplastics can cross the hardy membrane protecting the brain from many foreign bodies that get into the bloodstream.   And there’s some evidence that mothers may be able to pass microplastics through the placenta to a developing fetus, according to research that has not yet been published but was presented at a spring conference³² at the Rutgers Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability.   According to Myers, some of these microplastic particles could potentially also leach bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates.   [Jodi] Flaws [Ph.D., associate director of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Toxicology Program at the University of Illinois] says the particles can accumulate PCBs … linked to harmful health effects,³³ including various cancers, a weakened immune system, reproductive problems, and more. And once these chemicals are inside of us, even low doses have an effect.”  

US plastic pollution just got a whole lot worse

  Plastic is considered cheaper and more convenient than conventional alternatives such as glass, but “cheap” is relative. The true cost of single-use plastic on human and environmental health is astronomical, and the burden of that cost is unevenly distributed.   Some of the world’s largest plastic producers often ship their waste to poorer nations for recycling, such as Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, which have few to no environmental regulations on how that waste is processed and disposed of.   Since 1991, nearly half the world’s plastic waste has been sent to China,³⁴ but as of 2018, China stopped accepting plastic waste imports, saying it no longer wanted to be the “world’s garbage dump.”³⁵ As a result, an estimated 111 million tons of plastic will have nowhere to go by 2030.³⁶   An August 2019 NPR article³⁷ quotes John Caturano, senior sustainability manager for packaging programs at Nestlé Waters North America, "The water bottle has in some ways become the mink coat or the pack of cigarettes. It's socially not very acceptable to the young folks, and that scares me."   His comment was delivered during a March 2019 panel meeting between executives from companies making or packaging their products in plastic. The meeting was aimed at figuring out what to do with mounting plastic pollution now that China is no longer accepting U.S. trash.  

Can circular economy of plastics save us?

  The situation in America is all the more dire due to our failure to implement stronger recycling standards. According to a 2017 analysis,³⁸ a mere 9% of all plastic refuse gets recycled in the U.S. As reported by National Geographic:³⁹   “Mass production of plastics, which began just six decades ago, has accelerated so rapidly that it has created 8.3 billion metric tons — most of it in disposable products that end up as trash …   Of the 8.3 billion metric tons that has been produced, 6.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste. Of that, only 9 percent has been recycled. The vast majority — 79 percent — is accumulating in landfills or sloughing off in the natural environment as litter. Meaning: At some point, much of it ends up in the oceans, the final sink.”   While some believe the only way out of this plastic pollution conundrum is to eliminate plastic altogether, others are pushing for better recycling. As reported by NPR:⁴⁰   "'Circular economy' is now a catchphrase that some say is a way out of the plastic mess. The idea is essentially this: Society needs plastic, but people need to recycle a lot more of it and use it again and again and again. That will eliminate a lot of waste and cut down on the avalanche of new plastic made every year.”   However, while companies are making progress when it comes to reusing plastic, a drawback is cost. According to TerraCycle, a New Jersey recycling company featured in NPR’s story,⁴¹ using recycled plastic can cost three times that of virgin plastic. The U.S. also does not have enough recyclers to keep up with the onslaught — a side effect of decades of outsourcing to China.  

Biodegradable products aren’t all they’re cracked up to be

  In recent years, many companies have pledged to address plastic waste by transitioning over to more biodegradable products. Unfortunately, we’re now discovering some of these “green” alternatives are anything but. A perfect example of this are the “biodegradable” and “compostable” bowls and takeout containers now offered by a number of restaurants.   Recent testing⁴² reveals that while these fiber-based bowls are indeed biodegradable, they’re coated with grease-repelling per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances^43,44 (PFAS) — highly toxic chemicals associated with immune dysfunction⁴⁵ and cancer^46,47 that never degrade!   Not only can these chemicals migrate from the container into your food, but believing them to be biodegradable and safe, you might also place them in your compost, thus creating a vicious circle where the chemicals contaminate and ruin the compost, which is then mixed into the soil, where they contaminate the food grown in it. Ultimately, the chemicals end up on your plate again, now inside the food.   According to New Food Economy,⁴⁸ San Francisco is banning bowls manufactured with PFAS as of January 1, 2020, and Washington’s Healthy Food Packaging Act⁴⁹ — enacted in 2018 — bans all PFAS in paper food packaging, effective 2022.⁵⁰ A drawback of the Act is that the ban will not take effect until or unless a safer alternative is commercially available.  

How to reduce your plastic exposure

  It can be extraordinarily difficult to avoid plastic, and it’s probably not possible to avoid all exposure. However, you can certainly minimize your exposure by taking a few common-sense precautions. One basic strategy is to opt for products sold in glass containers rather than plastic whenever possible. Another is to look for plastic-free alternatives to common items such as toys and toothbrushes. Other suggestions offered by Consumer Reports include:⁵¹  

• Drinking tap water rather than bottled water — As mentioned, bottled water tends to have far higher amounts of plastic debris than tap water. I would add the recommendation to filter your tap water, not only to get rid of potential plastic debris, but also to avoid the many chemical and heavy metal pollutants found in most water supplies.
• Avoid reheating food in plastic containers — Instead, heat your food in a pot on the stove, an oven-safe pan or a glass container if using a microwave.
• Store foods in glass rather than plastic — Consumer Reports specifically warns against using plastic food containers marked with the recycle codes 3, 6 and 7, as these contain phthalates, styrene and bisphenols.
• Ditch processed foods and takeout for fresh food — Most food wrappers and containers, including cans, contain plastic.
• Vacuum regularly — Microplastic and plastic chemicals are found in most household dust, which can end up being either digested or inhaled. Maintaining your home as dust-free as possible is therefore recommended, especially if you have young children that spend a lot of time on the floor. Ideally, use a vacuum cleaner equipped with a HEPA filter.

 

MONTREAL | Several residents of Verdun joined forces on Saturday to collect old abandoned butts on the sidewalks of their neighborhood. As an incentive: the volunteers received a beer from the Benelux neighborhood bar.   In all, the citizen group Tomorrow Verdun was able to gather 51 participants, children as adults, who crisscrossed the neighborhood in search of butts. As an incentive, volunteers were treated to a beer from the Benelux microbrewery in exchange for their hard work.   The group attacked the neighborhood's metro stations, LaSalle, De l'Église and Verdun, as well as the Arthur-Therrien pool. These were four strategic locations, according to one of the two instigators of the event, Céline-Audrey Beauregard.   Large cigarette butts have been sent to a recycling center, TerraCycle, where they will be treated. The citizen group would like to repeat the "megofest", the name given to the event, five or six times in the next year, said Ms. Beauregard. She calls these events "unifying" and important to create "a sense of belonging to the neighborhood".   The volunteer said she was inspired by an already popular movement in Europe to collect butts. Indeed, in some bars of the old continent, customers can receive, in exchange for a drink, a bottle or a bag filled with butts, a free consumption.   "It was, in my opinion, a good initiative that could very well be implemented here. In this way, we could also raise awareness about the damage of throwing cigarette butts into the wild, "she explained. Other gestures For the next edition, the organizer would like to sell ashtrays to passersby smokers, at low cost, in team with Mégot Zero (a program that aims to implement ashtrays in private and public areas), in order not only to raise awareness, but also to offer them another option than leaving cigarettes in the wild.   The Verdun Demain group planned to attend the borough council meeting on Tuesday evening to present the council with several initiatives, including the addition of ashtrays in non-smoking areas and awareness-raising elements on the doors of the stations. subway.  

An innovative project was officially launched on August 30th at the Cégep de Matane, while the collegiate I students from the Nature Sciences program, in collaboration with the Institutional Environment Action and Consultation Committee, launched an appeal to the entire community. college to recycle their pencils.   With the theme: «PRAY the future! Young people are offering students and campus staff to recycle their pens, markers and pencils of all kinds by depositing them in the different collection boxes available throughout the school.   The collected material will be sent to TerraCycle, which will have the mission to give it a second life. This project was born thanks to the initiative of Mario Lévesque, teacher of the Biology course Evolution and diversity of life in the Science program who had the idea of integrating the project into his class.   "As an educational institution, we generate an incredible amount of pens, mechanical pencils, highlighters and permanent markers that unfortunately end up in the trash. As Bruntland Institution and Cégep Vert, we want to stop this pollution by partnering with the wholesale office TerraCycle program. Today, we have started our awareness campaign and we hope that our fellow students and employees will lend themselves to this form of recovery in addition to that of batteries managed by CACE for two years. (Mario Lévesque teacher)   Eight picking boxes are already in place and seven more will soon be added to the Matane Cégep.    

If you knew what grime, mold, and germs lurked in your makeup brushes, you might never use them again!  You should clean them, but I admit to ruining more than one pricey makeup brush in the process. And, DIY cleansing doesn’t guarantee that they will be free from mold and other pollutants. Enter Beautiac makeup brushes, another alternative to have super clean brushes every single month.

  Beautiac makeup brushes is a new makeup brush subscription company based in Nashville, TN touting interchangeable, sustainable makeup brushes.   There are three subscription options with free shipping. All products are cruelty-free and brush heads can be recycled or mailed back to Beautiac’s headquarters where they will recycle the products for you. It might seem a bit indulgent at first, but it makes sense in many ways.   For starters, since the brush heads and the handles are separate, they fit nicely into a bag so you don’t have to leave them out in the air unless you want to.   If you’ve ever ruined an expensive brush, a subscription delivery of new brush heads on a month to month basis ($20 ) or pre-pay 3 months ($18) or 6 months for $16.50/month, the cost seems to look more reasonable.   The starter kit includes 3 brush handles, 3 brush heads, a blur sponge, a makeup brush stand, an antimicrobial bag, and a recycling return bag.   Sadly, Beautiac makeup brushes are not available in smaller sizes for eyes, liner,  or lips. These tend to get just as dirty (or more so) than facial brushes do. I hope that Beautiac will include these smaller brushes in their offerings one of these days.

Brush Handle:

  Beautiac makeup brushes have universal brush handles that fit all their brush heads. You can just pop them on and off. Bringing the brush heads and using one handle is good for travel.   When you want to upgrade the handle you can send it back via the plastic Beautiac recycling bag. Used handles are cleaned, paired with clean brush heads, and donated to Women’s programs and shelters.  Thumbs up to this!  

Brush heads: 

  The bristles are nicely formed and pick up powder really well. But the cruelty-free bristles are not necessarily recyclable.  Beautiac’s brush head and ferrule are both made of the same material and can be recycled.  

Blur Sponge, Bag, Smart Stand:

  The Beautiac Blur Sponge is made of a non-latex material and can also be recycled through the Zero Waste Box™ participation with Terra Cycle. But sponges are really inexpensive. IT might be more cost effective just to ditch your facial sponge each month and buy another one for a couple of dollars.   The Beautiac Smart Stand is slim and clever. If you don’t have too many makeup brushes or makeup tools, this will be such a nice way to organize them. Alas, the Blur Sponge doesn’t have a steady base to stand on so it balances precariously on the Smart Stand.   The Smart Stand can be placed in the dishwasher or hand cleaned. It can also be can be placed in the recycling bag and sent back to Beautiac, where it will be recycled or upcycled into something else.   The antimicrobial bag is made from a canvas textile comprised of cotton, coated with an antimicrobial solution on the inside to ensure the bag doesn’t grow bacteria. The bag can sustain multiple washings.   My assumption is that if you keep your brushes in it, you should also wash it every month when the new brushes arrive. The Beautiac design team makes products that are designed to be recycled or up-cycled. They’re made from cruelty-free materials.   Every starter kit also receives a recycling bag to mail the used products back to Beautiac headquarters.  As IK mentioned, using TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Box Program, 100% of the accepted products collected for recycling will be recycled into something useful.   Your returned products might end up in a park bench, a picnic table, or some other community beautification product.  

Beautic Makeup Brushes, The Bottom Line: 

  I love the idea of recycling products. I love the idea of getting new, germ-free clean beauty every month.   However, not all the components of the Beautiac makeup brushes can be recycled and a good brush cleaner is a much cheaper alternative.   When it comes to packaging, it’s impressive, but if you are trying to be more environmentally friends, why send a huge cardboard box for these relatively small items with each in a separate tube? Why not save some trees, and just pack the products in one bag? there are a lot of tubes and tops and boxes you must recycle yourself   In addition, the amount of environmental impact it takes to package, transport, recycle and re-fashion pieces of Beautiac makeup brushes is also a  “cost” to the environment.   I don’t see this so much as helping the environment as much as a little indulgence for people who have disposable income and want really clean brushes.  That said, the Beautiac makeup brushes are really cool and well done.   For more information visit the Beautiac Web Site: https://beautiac.com/

Walmart and TerraCycle are joining forces to launch the nation’s largest car seat recycling event in nearly 4,000 Walmart stores across the country. The first-ever Walmart Car Seat Recycling Event will take place Sept. 16-30, in celebration of National Baby Safety Month. Customers can trade in used car seats at the Service desk in any participating Walmart store and receive a $30 Walmart gift card* that can be used in store or online to buy items for their baby. All car seats collected in this program will be recycled through TerraCycle, and each component will be diverted from the landfill.   “Through the Walmart Car Seat Recycling Program, traditionally non-recyclable car seats are now nationally recyclable,” said Tom Szaky, CEO and Founder, TerraCycle. “We are proud to work with this forward-thinking company to offer families from coast-to-coast a way to give their car seat, the item that has kept their little ones safe, a second-life. Through this event, we expect to divert the plastic equivalent of approximately 35 million water bottles from landfills.”

Weleda (Arlesheim, Switzerland) has partnered with TerraCycle (Trenton, N.J.) to offer a collection and recycling program for its line of Skin Food products.   Using a prepaid shipping label TerraCycle provides, customers can mail their empty packaging—including flexible plastic tubes and caps, aluminum tubes and caps, and rigid plastic tubs and lids—for TerraCycle to recycle. Program participants can earn $1 per pound of packaging they send in for recycling, which they can donate to a nonprofit, school, or charitable organization of their choice. Visit terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/weleda

Acaroglu cita o sistema Loop da empresa de reciclagem TerraCycle, uma plataforma global de compras e reutilização, como um movimento positivo em direção a um sistema de produção circular e diz que pequenas e médias empresas estão se comprometendo seriamente com a circularidade. Ela também está encantada ao ver mais agências de design buscando seus conselhos sobre o fornecimento de serviços de economia a seus clientes.