TRENTON, N.J.—Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has proven crucial in stemming the tide of COVID-19 but this surge in production has led to littered PPE covering streets and literally flooding marine habitats. To address this separate unintended public health crisis as well as the threat PPE poses to the environment as plastic pollution, TerraCycle Regulated Waste’s line of EasyPak Containers, an easy-to-use recycling solution for single-use gloves and masks, is poised to help business owners make an impact in time for the holiday rush.   Designed as a recycling system for businesses in need of a turn-key solution for hazardous waste disposal, the PPE EasyPak Containers allow business owners or property managers to easily recycle used gloves and masks on-site, thereby allowing staff to responsibly dispose of their protective gear instead of littering this plastic waste in the environment-at-large.   To recycle PPE waste, TerraCycle Regulated Waste offers the following EasyPak containers:  

• Disposable Gloves EasyPak Box—to recycle vinyl, nitrile, and latex gloves.
• Disposable Masks EasyPak Box—to recycle surgical and industrial face masks.
• Safety Equipment and Protective Gear EasyPak Box—to recycle ear plugs, beard nets, hair nets, gloves, safety glasses, disposable garments, and masks.

  When full, the boxes are returned to TerraCycle Regulated Waste for processing and the collected waste will be cleaned, melted and remolded to make new products. A Solution That is Easy to Use “TerraCycle Regulated Waste developed a solution for PPE waste that is as innovative as it is easy to use,” said Kevin Flynn, Global Vice President of TerraCycle Operations and Director of TerraCycle Regulated Waste. “The EasyPak recycling program can help businesses maintain workplace safety while simultaneously keeping their parking lots, grounds, surrounding communities, and shared environment free from plastic litter just in time for the holiday rush.”   TerraCycle Regulated Waste created the EasyPak program to help businesses facilitate the effective and compliant management of regulated, universal and hazardous waste. All EasyPak boxes are UN-compliant and are sealed while in transit, limiting any possibility of contamination. Additionally, for added convenience, the EasyPak containers are available for purchase through a reorder subscription program ensuring that property managers are never left without a solution to their universal waste.   The boxes travel for up to a week before they are received at TerraCycle Regulated Waste facilities, where additional safety precautions are taken in accordance with CDC recommendations. The EasyPak program does not accept medical waste or biohazardous materials.   To learn about TerraCycle’s Regulated Waste Division, visit www.lamprecycling.com.  

The city of San Diego has recognized 10 businesses and institutions that have implemented or expanded innovative waste reduction and recycling programs.   The programs honored included everything from establishing a cigarette butt collection and recycling program, to creating a system to track solid waste tonnage to identify diversion opportunities.   Those honored were: LJ Crafted Wines where they have had wine membership utilizing reusable bottles with swing tops that are returned and exchanged. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority for establishing a cigarette butt collection and recycling program. The butts are shipped TerraCycle which composts the cigarette paper and tobacco. The plastic filters are recycled and turned into outdoor benches and tables. San Diego Mesa College composted 16.34 tons of pre-consumer food scraps from campus cafeterias and coffee shops for the on-campus garden. UC San Diego had all construction and demolition projects be required to divert 75% of debris from landfills. San Diego State University implemented the SkySpark solid waste tracking system which is an online interactive waste dashboard that tracks tonnages specific to buildings on campus to help analyze and identify diversion opportunities. Johnson R&D made efforts to become a paperless facility, switching to digital signage to reduce the number of posters and flyers. The Hazard Center hosted an annual recycle and spring clean up event for tenants to properly dispose of items that normally are not recycled. The San Diego Zoo was honored for recycling electricity via a one-megawatt energy battery that stores and discharges energy during peak hours to assist with park operations. Sharp Healthcare diverted 4.2 million pounds of material from being dumped in the landfill. This included composting 500,000 pounds of food waste and reprocessing 106,000 pounds of surgical instruments. The San Diego Food Bank used a “Turbo Separator” to take unopened but damaged and inedible cans, boxes, and jars of food and separate the food from the packaging for compost and recycling.   “By reducing their carbon footprint in our communities, these workplaces are showing the community they care about the city’s future,” said Gene Matter, the city’s environmental services interim director.

Waste360 reports that the cannabis industry has sped toward a national presence without solving the problem of its glass, plastic, and composite packaging waste. Although it is the first industry to track products from source to retail in many states, cannabis companies have not factored recycling into its lifecycle until now. Dr. Bridget Williams, a doctor who founded a medical cannabis company in Ohio, Green Harvest Health, has worked for the past year to introduce a recycling program supported by its cannabis producers. She is working with Terracycle, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and out-of-state partners to develop policies for packaging materials and collection using bins in every one of the state’s dispensaries in the next year.

BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP, NJ-- Bordentown Township Environmental Commission is reminding residents that there is an easy way to discard trash and help the environment at the same time.   The Township is participating in TerraCycle's Zero-Waste program, which has the goal of collecting non-recyclable packaging to reduce waste and help keep tons of the Township's garbage from ending up in the landfill.   TerraCycle, which is based in Trenton, partners with municipalities around the world to provide zero-waste solutions for certain waste streams so that the discarded items can be re-purposed.   Bordentown residents are encouraged to save their candy wrappers, chip and snack bags, gum wrappers and granola bar wrappers and bring them to the Bordentown Township Public Works building, where a dedicated collection container is in place to discard the items.   In addition, Bordentown Township is also participating in TerraCycle and Colgate's Oral Care Recycling Program.   Residents can drop off any brand of used or empty oral care products and packaging, such as toothpaste tubes, caps and cartons, toothbrushes and their outer packaging and dental floss containers, to the Public Works Building. The discarded items are then sent to TerraCycle by the Township, where they are upcycled into new, eco-friendly and affordable products to be made available at major retailers.   The Public Works Building's hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 3:30pm, and Saturday from 9am to 1pm. The building is located at 266 Crosswicks Road.   For more information about the Township's participation in the TerraCycle program, click HERE.

Amazon has the Don Francisco’s & Café La Llave Espresso Capsules Variety Pack 10 Each, Recyclable Coffee Pods (50 Count) Compatible With Nespresso Original Brewers priced at $21.99. Clip the coupon and check out using Subscribe & Save to get this for only $13.39 with free shipping.  

• ENJOY EACH OF OUR FOUR ESPRESSO CAPSULE VARIETIES; Café La Llave, Old Havana, Clasico, Organico. Discover your favorite!
• RECYCLABLE COFFEE PODS: We have partnered with TerraCycle for a recycling program that makes Don Francisco’s Coffee Pods recyclable through terracycle.com
• COMPATIBLE WITH NESPRESSO ORIGINAL BREWERS: specially engineered for Nespresso Original Line brewers to deliver a high-quality and consistent espresso, shot after shot. Not compatible with Nespresso Vertuo brewers. *Not affiliated with Nespresso.
• FOUR GENERATIONS STRONG: Our family’s expertise extends more than 140 years and is headquartered outside of Los Angeles in the city of Vernon.
• Enjoy each of our four espresso capsule varieties; 10 Cafe La Llave, 10 old Havana, 20 CLASICO and 10 ORGANICO. Discover your favorite!
• BLENDED, ROASTED and PACKED at Our Zero-Waste-To-Landfill Roastery in Los Angeles
• Specialty: Kosher

To get this deal:

• Go to the Don Francisco’s & Café La Llave Espresso Capsules Variety Pack 10 Each, Recyclable Coffee Pods (50 Count) Compatible With Nespresso Original Brewers page
• Clip the coupon
• Then click on the “Subscribe & Save” option on the right side of the item page
• Check out for $13.39 with free shipping
• Once your order ships, go to “Your Account” and cancel any future shipments if you don’t need them. Don’t worry they will email you before they ship out the next order!

As an added incentive, for every shipment of Bliss waste sent to TerraCycle, collectors earn points that can be donated to a non-profit, school or charitable organization of their choice. We know that our shoppers care not only about what they're putting on their bodies, but also the implications their choices have on the environment and world around them, says Meri Baregamian, CEO of Bliss. We are thrilled to be entering this partnership with TerraCycle to ensure that our products are not only efficacious, but environmentally friendly. This marks one of Bliss' key sustainability initiatives and we are excited to continue evolving our products to be cleaner and more sustainable. Through the Bliss Recycling Program, consumers can now send in all Bliss personal care products and packaging including flexible and rigid plastic, pumps, sprays, packets, pouches, tubes, jars, and complex closures to be recycled for free. Participation is easy simply sign up on the TerraCycle program page https//www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/bliss and mail in the packaging waste using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the packaging is cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products. All Bliss products are 100% cruelty-free and free from more than 1,300 harmful ingredients that consumers do not want on their skin or body. Bliss believes that taking care of each other and the environment are fundamental to achieving a higher state of happy. Through the launch of this recycling program, Bliss is achieving their goal of helping everyone experience unapologetic happiness by guiding consumers to focus not only on the wellness of the skin, but on the wellness of the planet, said TerraCycle CEO and Founder, Tom Szaky. Beginning on November 15th for National Recycling Day, the Bliss Recycling Program will be open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization. For more information on TerraCycle's recycling programs, visit www.terracycle.com.

NEW YORK—Around the world and increasing in the U.S., major contact lens companies have continued to articulate and escalate their commitment to sustainability goals and are communicating those messages more frequently to both providers and patients. As VM has reported, according to the AOA, many patients are unaware that there is an environmentally friendly way to dispose of their worn contact lenses. The organization cited a 2018 Arizona State University study which found “as many as 1 in 5 contact lens wearers dispose of their lenses down the sink or toilet, contributing an estimated 6 to 10 metric tons of plastic lenses to U.S. wastewater each year. Furthermore, those lenses break down into microplastics at treatment plants, posing a risk to marine organisms and the food supply, researchers claimed.   Earlier this month, Bausch + Lomb reported that its exclusive ONE by ONE Recycling program has recycled nearly 27 million used contact lenses, top foils and blister packs since launching in November 2016. The program, made possible through a collaboration with TerraCycle, a world leader in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle post-consumer waste, has diverted more than 162,000 pounds of contact lens waste from oceans, lakes, streams and landfills. “As a leader in the eye health industry and the originator of the first soft contact lens, we are proud to provide the ONE by ONE Recycling program to contact lens wearers to help prevent these used materials from ending up in our environment,” said John Ferris, general manager, U.S. Vision Care, Bausch + Lomb. “In addition, as part of our overall approach to sustainability, we continually evaluate the full life cycle of our lenses. In fact, many of our contact lenses, including Biotrue ONEday daily disposables, are manufactured in facilities that have adopted zero-waste-to-landfill initiatives and have achieved diversion rates of 94 percent to 99 percent during the past few years, further supporting our long-standing commitment to doing all we can to lessen our company’s overall environmental footprint.” Today, more than 5,500 optometry practices are registered with the ONE by ONE Recycling program. To participate, contact lens wearers can bring their used contact lenses and packaging to one of these offices, which collects the used lens materials in a custom recycling bin provided by Bausch + Lomb. Once the bin is filled, the optometry practice will ship the materials to TerraCycle for proper recycling using a pre-paid shipping label. Additionally, for every 10 pounds of material received from the ONE by ONE Recycling Program, TerraCycle donates $10 to Optometry Giving Sight. More details are posted at www.BauschRecycles.com In 2019, Bausch + Lomb took the program one step further by repurposing the recycled waste and combining it with other recycled material to create custom training modules that were donated to the Guide Dog Foundation, a national not-for-profit that trains guide dogs for people who are blind or visually impaired. CooperVision continues to expand its commitment to sustainability as a company. Its parent company, The Cooper Companies, has aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global framework and action plan intended to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity and peace for all by 2030. In addition, CooperVision is manufacturing its clarity 1 day lenses at its LEEDS certified facility in Costa Rica, a tropical country that has transformed itself to 98 percent renewable energy sources. The Alajuela facility, which hosted a visit from some 20 ECPs over a year ago also highlighted initiatives the company has underway as part of its stepped-up efforts toward sustainability, including recycling efforts and packaging programs, too. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care also has initiated contact lens recycling programs in Europe with TerraCycle, has revamped its contact lens packaging and its efforts are part of a broader company-wide position embracing sustainability as it impacts energy, company waste reduction, manufacturing systems, and other investments. The company’s website emphasizes the company’s goals as part of its corporate social responsibility missions. Read more about it at www.jjvision.com/corporate-social-responsibility. At Alcon, the company has developed and issued a sustainable packaging guide for their packing design teams, utilized best practice packaging case examples, shared among designers across the company. Alcon has also made sure the company’s design and development program ensures products are manufactured and placed on the market in conformance with global product-related legislation, including EU Medical Device Regulation, REACH, RoHS, Packaging Waste and global equivalents. To help bolster awareness around proper contact lens disposal, the AOA’s Contact Lens and Cornea Section (CLCS) developed a resource to help doctors educate their patients.

Dando continuidade ao compromisso de repensar e inovar constantemente e, assim, promover atitudes mais sustentáveis para o meio ambiente, a Nestlé anuncia ao mercado a chegada da nova versão da caixa de bombons Especialidades, agora sem o filme plástico externo. Com essa mudança, a companhia deixa de usar mais de 450 toneladas/ano de plástico. Só este volume é equivalente ao peso de aproximadamente 100 elefantes, por exemplo.

In a year of heretofore unseen changes, a little inspiration can go a long way. Over the past several months, Spark Change has provided a virtual platform for inspiration driven by a series of keynote addresses centered on some of the most pressing and relevant themes affecting the natural products industry today.   These themes—Mission-driven Business, Modern Health and Organic and Regenerative—served as the focal points of the three community events that took place during the online trade show. The community events created both a space for deep inspiration and the sense of community that is so important to our industry.   For those that may have missed these talks or who wish to watch them again, it’s still possible to head over to the Spark Change platform for a reprise. Not yet registered for Spark Change? It’s not too late to register here.   In the meantime, below are synopses of three keynote talks that are already helping Spark Change in the natural products industry.     During his empassioned keynote,Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle, emphasized the importance of committing to sustainable packaging solutions as a business—whether on the retail, manufacturing, distribution or consumer front—in a talk centered on “Eliminating the idea of waste.”     Nutrition pioneer and award-winning dietitian Kate Geagan of Kate Geagan Sustainable Nutrition has spent much of her career studying the intersection of human health and nutrition, good food and how we can transform our food system to be more sustainable and regenerative on a daily basis. In her fascinating keynote Geagan delves into what modern health means to today’s consumers.     Former U.S. Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan is joined by Debra Eschmeyer, the former executive director of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Initiative and senior policy advisor at the White House, during this keynote. In it the two trailblazers discuss strides made in the organic industry over the past 30 years and the importance of bringing back a broad-based coalition involving environmental and consumer groups, among others, as we look to the future of organics.

The cannabis industry is forcing businesses in every sector from finance to waste to rapidly adapt to evolving state regulations while adhering to the federal government's stance on the plant.   The rush to open business doors as the United States progresses on the legalization front has left little time to set up the mechanisms needed for waste collection and recycling.   A former Cleveland Clinic practitioner with two decades of family and occupational medicine experience, Dr. Bridget Williams became discontented with the pharmaceutical approach of traditional medicine. She made a leap into the cannabis space with Green Harvest Health (GHH) and is determined to find a solution to the industry's waste dilemma. Cannabis was legalized in the state for medicinal use in 2016, and Ohio's first dispensary debuted in January 2019.   “I opened up my own offices with cannabis and CBD and then tried incorporating holistic practices as well,” Williams explains. “I was interested in really supporting the community that has supported our efforts.”   Shortly after opening her clinic, Dr. Williams - along with Ally Reaves, founder, Midwest CannaWomen and Solomon Oyeyemi, owner, Green Ideas and Wellness - launched Cannabis Can!, a nonprofit that is, among other efforts, working to establish a sustainable recycling system for the state. In a recent conversation, Dr. Williams and Waste360 outlined how legalization is impacting waste collection efforts and what progress is being made to create a recycling model for cannabis in Ohio.         Waste360: There are communities across Ohio that don't have any kind of recycling program. Coupled with the fact that cannabis is still banned on a federal level, the issue of what to do with the industry's waste presents a host of problems. Has there been any progress made since 2019 in terms of being able to recycle cannabis or take that waste and put it toward use?   Dr. Williams: In 2019, when we first got started, the number of plastics and packaging that's related to [cannabis] sales – and we're not talking about just even the cannabis flower, but all the processing units as well – that are sold, were about over a million just from the manufactured product and probably over almost 3 million units of cannabis packaging from the plant material. So, nearly 5 million units of packaging have been produced and it is growing every day from sales.   Cannabis Can! is a nonprofit project under GHH Community Foundation. We are a group of cannabis businesses as well as cannabis business supporters that want to work collectively and network to serve the communities that are serving us here in Ohio. And so, before the recycling program came up, we ran two different food collection campaigns, raising over $5,000 of money and then over a half-ton of food.   In the short time that we've been an organization, we realized that a big problem that we were facing was the recycling issue, that there are aspects of the packaging, which is recyclable, but a great deal of it is non-recyclable pieces, including batteries. We wanted to see if we could find a solution to this issue. So, we started doing our research, looking to see what our options were. When we realized how big of a problem that was, we really wanted to not just do a campaign but actually develop a program that could serve the entire state. So, we were looking for recycling organizations that helped not only recycle non-recyclables but also recycle cannabis-related industry recyclables because everyone doesn't do that as well. And that's how we got in touch with TerraCycle, which is out of New Jersey. And that's basically what they do. They have a huge program out in Canada, where they are recycling packaging for a large group of dispensaries out there, and they are really excited to get involved with us down here in Ohio. So, we approached the Board of Pharmacy, which is the governing body for a great deal of the cannabis industry here, and they're really interested in what we have suggested and presented to them. And we're in the midst of writing our final proposal to them to actually be able to get the program started, and then actually raise the money to be able to fund the program.   Waste360: What are the challenges and the opportunities that starting a recycling program from scratch presents?   Dr. Williams: This is going to be an incredible opportunity for all in the medical cannabis industry. I think Ohio is really trying to create a stellar program that is well maintained. We have a number of restrictions, but I think what our restrictions offer is a well-controlled program. So, we're excited to add this into what could be very beneficial for the state. So, some of our challenges are creating a program from scratch and looking at residuals or being able to make sure that we are avoiding any concerns about any illegal behavior that might be related to residuals in cannabis packaging. So, we have to make sure that everything's secure and safe. And then we're also raising the money to be able to fund the program itself. One of the benefits of this is that being a nonprofit, we're looking for small and large donations that will be able to fund the recycling program. And then it's also a tax write-off for these corporations being that it’s coming through a nonprofit organization.   I'm working with a group that's outside of Ohio, and we're working with the [Drug Enforcement Administration] DEA to make sure that if we're transporting any material at all, but it's still considered legal. So these are some of the things that have come up, but that we're actually working through and getting some really positive feedback from the DEA, from the state and from TerraCycle as well. We're at the point that we're creating the proposal to then get the final word and then start creating our fundraising program. That's one of the other things that we're looking at - grants for recycling programs that would support such a large effort.   Waste360: What other states have you been researching that already have something established?   Dr. Williams: TerraCycle is in a number of different states on a smaller scale. Not as far as a statewide program, I think what we've looked at probably a little bit closer is what they're doing in Canada. They have a large group of dispensaries that are doing something similar where they are starting with batteries and in phases. Other aspects of recycling, including the residuals and a phased program makes sense, and phasing in is what we're able to do. So we're looking at the plastics, the biowaste, the metal, as the program grows. That's what we've looked at the closest. Based on the proposal, it's obviously going to be very detailed and thorough, just based on the legality and all the intricacies of the cannabis industry.   Waste360: How long do you think this phasing will take, and how is it going to be implemented?   Dr. Williams: That is really dependent on the state. It could possibly be six months to a year before we would implement the next phase. When you're talking about a recycling program, it's not just about putting out a bin and hoping people show up with their materials. There's a great marketing campaign that has to go with that so that people know where to go, what they can bring, what they can even recycle still at home and what they need to bring to the dispensary to be able to recycle. Our plan is to have a bin in every dispensary in Ohio, which is going to end up being about 54 to start.   Waste360: Do you see patients asking for this type of option for recyclable packaging options, or a move towards sustainability in general?   Dr. Williams: Absolutely. We did a survey of the cannabis patients as well as the industry business owners, and 80% believe if there was a recycling program with cannabis and CBD packaging that 95% were willing to support and participate in the recycling program for Ohio.   Waste360: What are the next steps for the organization?   Dr. Williams: We're really in the midst of making sure that this effort is successful. So, creating the proposal, the fundraising and getting this project off the ground is a huge, huge effort for the organization, and that's going to be a great deal of our focus. As we go on, we're building more and more of what we consider collaborative networking. Cannabis can be a very competitive space, but we have the most optimistic, friendly and wonderful people that work with us. And it's creating more projects that really support Ohio. That's where our focus is – on supporting the Earth with recycling and supporting our communities by doing food donations. We would love to do more community projects that support the people around us as well. As we move forward, I think we'll continue to have a lot of growth and continue to do more and more projects that support the community.