Before COVID-19, face masks were used only by medical professionals, however when COVID-19 became a pandemic, many were required to use face masks during daily life.   Face masks are worn worldwide and many places have made wearing a mask mandatory in public places. Some face masks are single-use, meaning it will only be worn for one day, and after it must be thrown away to practice good hygiene. As the pandemic continued, people saw that face masks are a priority and began to look for face masks that are recyclable or washable.   “I am a big fan of recycling products, this is because we need to help the earth to maintain more and more alive, ‘’ said Sofia Sorondo, freshman. “I love to use a disposable face mask, and [it] helps me feel much better.”   Terracycle is a social enterprise that is eliminating the idea of waste. TerraCycle turns ocean plastic into new products and teaches the community to recycle.   “When I was in school I learned about TerraCycle because they [taught] us the basic information we need to know about [recycling],” said Giorgia Pigiato, junior.   Now people are seeing that face masks will be in our life for a long time, that’s why many clothing companies and supermarkets are selling more recyclable and washable ones.   “For me, it is so much better using a disposable mask,” said Lula Prada, freshman. “I can wear it many times and if it is dirty, I can just wash it and that’s it.”

In March, Seattle was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the parents of Yooni Kim, a retail worker, were worried about her. They sent her a package of disposable masks, and she began wearing them to work. But that created a new problem for their environmentally conscious daughter: How could she responsibly dispose of the used masks?   Soon, she discovered a potential solution: a recycling service, offered by a company called TerraCycle. For $86, TerraCycle would send Kim a small "ZeroWaste" box, roughly the size of a toaster oven, which she could fill with used masks and ship back to the company for recycling.   As Kim debated making the purchase, she wondered what happens to recycled masks, and about the environmental impacts of TerraCycle's process. She figured it had to beat the alternative: millions of used masks piling up in landfills or being burned in incinerators, depending on the local waste company's practices. "It is an expensive thing to invest in," she said. "But I was open to paying for it, because if someone wants to dispose of masks responsibly, why not?" Determining what constitutes responsible disposal, however, is not straightforward. And, experts say, a truly sustainable solution would require rethinking manufacturing systems, long before any masks hit the trash or recycling bin.   TerraCycle was founded as a worm fertilizer company in 2001. Since then, it has pivoted to recycling items other companies won't accept, such as pens and markers, plastic wrap and single-use coffee capsules. So far this year, it's collected and processed 74,000 pounds of disposable masks, gowns and gloves, stationing ZeroWaste boxes at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Subaru dealerships, as well as selling them to individual consumers like Kim.   To recycle the items, workers first sort through the large piles of used personal protective equipment sent to the TerraCycle headquarters in New Jersey to ensure that the dominant material is the non-woven polypropylene used in most disposable masks. (Metal nose strips from N95 masks, for instance, are removed.) Then, the piles are melted down and shredded into a mulch-like material that can be molded into things like railroad ties and shipping pallets. The resulting plastic is structurally sound, but looks uneven and dull, so selling it doesn't net TerraCycle much money. That's why the recycling boxes are expensive: The high price tag offsets what would otherwise be a net loss for the company.   The process may not be profitable, but according to TerraCycle, it can help the environment. "By recycling disposable masks, they are kept out of landfills and can be made into new materials and products, reducing the need to extract new materials from the planet," said Shaye DiPasquale, TerraCycle's publicist. DiPasquale also noted that bacteria from landfills produce methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.     But according to Jonathan Krones, an industrial ecologist at Boston College, the environmental calculus is more complicated than that. Recycling masks doesn't necessarily reduce demand for freshly made plastic. "Would plastic lumber or fleece have been made in the first place without the recycled plastic material? I'm not convinced," he said. And while landfills do produce methane emissions, they're mostly from decomposing food or paper, Krones said, not bacteria on plastics such as disposable masks. Furthermore, transporting and melting down masks during recycling requires significant energy, unlike simply letting them sit in a landfill.   Ultimately, it's impossible to definitively determine whether it's more environmentally friendly to throw away masks or recycle them through services like TerraCycle's. If the goal is to reduce environmental impacts, we should be asking questions about mask manufacturing, not recycling, said Krones, because most of the environmental costs come from making masks in the first place. "There's no good option, because the product is inherently garbage," he said. In other countries, such as Japan and Germany, manufacturers are required to take back some used products and front a portion of the disposal costs. But no such federal rules currently exist in the U.S.   Still, even if recycling masks isn't more environmentally beneficial than just tossing them, TerraCycle's work helps remind consumers and companies that trash doesn't disappear after it's thrown out. Simply offering a service that requires consumers to mail in items by type illuminates the fact that not everything is easily recyclable, and that precious time and energy are required to properly sort recyclable pieces.   And, Krones said, TerraCycle's service has the power to get more people interested in learning about recycling and disposal systems. Kim learned how difficult it can be to properly recycle everyday items, and she has since become more interested in ways to create systemic change. "We're all doing the best we can, and ultimately, the biggest changes will have to come from corporations reducing waste," she said.   As for purchasing a TerraCycle box, she's trying to mobilize her neighbors to buy one together, so the high cost will be shared. "If I can find people who want to split a $90 box, then I'm sure we can pack it really tight," she said.  

AeroFlexx today announced a partnership with TerraCycle® as part of its sustainability commitment. This new partnership is an extension of AeroFlexx’s sustainable liquids packaging offering that begins with source reduction, using 50% to 70% less plastic than traditional rigid bottles. AeroFlexx packaging solutions also deliver significant e-commerce benefits and are ISTA 6 Amazon approved. AeroFlexx packaging creates a more environmentally friendly supply chain as it ships flat prior to filling, with less weight and less transportation required, creating a significantly lower carbon footprint. The AeroFlexx partnership with TerraCycle®, the world's leader in the collection and repurposing of complex waste streams, further demonstrates AeroFlexx’s commitment to sustainability, offering brands and customers easy-to-use, recycle-ready solutions, so that AeroFlexx Paks do not end up in landfills. Through TerraCycle®’s recycling program, any AeroFlexx Pak can be recycled by requesting a free mail-back envelope online.  AeroFlexx, a portfolio company of Innventure, revolutionized liquid packaging by combining the best attributes of flexibles and rigids to create a disruptive new-to-the-world packaging form. “Our commitment to a circular economy is to create an ecosystem where no AeroFlexx Pak ends up in the environment,” says Andrew Meyer, CEO of AeroFlexx. “AeroFlexx has been recognized for its ability to reduce the amount of plastic through source reduction and we’re excited to continue to deliver against our sustainability promise by making it easy for customers to recycle their AeroFlexx packaging through TerraCycle®.”

Nordstrom announced it has found two new locations for Nordstrom Local hubs in the Los Angeles area. The retailer said that these service hubs will allow it to better serve its customers in ways that add convenience to their experience. A Nordstrom Local at Newport Beach will open on November 6, and one at Manhattan Beach will follow in the coming months. Each location will take up more than 1,100 feet of retail space. The company currently operates five of these Local service hubs - two in New York City and three in Los Angeles. Intended as a place to provide shoppers added convenience rather than a standalone store, Nordstrom Local offers options for online order pickup and returns, express clothing alterations and other services. The two new Los Angeles locations will both also offer contactless curbside pickup, styling, gift wrapping, Beautycycle package recycling and clothing donation drop-off. "Opening Nordstrom Local service hubs in the Los Angeles area is part of the continuation of our market strategy in one of our largest markets to provide customers with greater access to merchandise selection and faster delivery while increasing convenience and connection through our services," the company's chief operating officer, Ken Worzel, said in a press release. "Nordstrom Local customers who engage with our services at a Local including curbside pick-up, returns, alterations and styling spend more than two-and-a-half times compared to other customers."

TerraCycle is a company built on the goal of "eliminating the idea of waste" by making that which is non-recyclable, recyclable. From coffee pods and pet food bags, to cigarette butts and PPE, TerraCycle collects and recycles a wide range of waste types.

Personal care products brand Gillette, known for its razors, set out to become a more sustainable company one decade again. And over the past 10 years, it has reduced its energy consumption by 392,851 gigajoules and its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent. The company has also reached zero-manufacturing-waste-to-landfill status across all of the plants in its global network. On Monday, Gillette announced its 2030 goals to uplevel its sustainability ambitions. Building on the 26 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions — and using a 2009-2010 baseline — Gillette plans to boost that number to a 50 percent reduction by 2030.

Personal care products brand Gillette, known for its razors, set out to become a more sustainable company one decade again. And over the past 10 years, it has reduced its energy consumption by 392,851 gigajoules and its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent. The company has also reached zero-manufacturing-waste-to-landfill status across all of the plants in its global network.   On Monday, Gillette announced its 2030 goals to uplevel its sustainability ambitions. Building on the 26 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions — and using a 2009-2010 baseline — Gillette plans to boost that number to a 50 percent reduction by 2030.   “We've done a lot over the 10 years. But we're not complacent,” said Gary Coombe, CEO at Gillette. “And we recognize there's still a lot to do.”   One of Gillette's 2030 goals is to maintain zero-waste-to-landfill status. To achieve that designation at its World Shaving Headquarters in Boston, Gillette worked with local recycler Rand Whitney Recycling to do an in-depth assessment on all of its waste streams, with a goal of ensuring all would be either reused, recycled or incinerated for energy recovery. P&G Corporate, Gillette's parent company, doesn't release numbers about how much waste is reused, recycled or incinerated across its brands.   From there, the company worked to reduce scrap waste and engaged employees to help improve recycling rates. Gillette said because the assessment of its waste streams, which helped determine how to treat the waste, was effective, it was later implemented at other plants globally.   Another one of Gillette’s goals is to reduce water consumption related to production by 35 percent. The company has been cutting its water consumption by using more recycled water at its sites and through water conservation projects. The company shared its Milenio plant in Mexico as an example. At that plant, it said it has zero water discharge, meaning 100 percent of its wastewater is treated and reused onsite.   What's more, Coombe said when Gillette thinks about reducing water consumption, it also considers how to reduce the amount of water people who use its razors consume when shaving.   To that end, it designed razors to be easier to rinse hair from, enabling people to use less water. It also recently released a “waterless” razor for "assisted shaving," or shaving someone else. that product was designed with caregivers in mind, with a shave gel tube attached directly to the razor.   Gillette’s other 2030 goals include:  

1. Use 100 percent renewable purchased electricity: The company has created an energy task force team at each of its sites to help identify and improve its energy footprint.
2. Reduce absolute virgin plastic by 50 percent.
3. Provide 100 percent transparency about the ingredients in its formulas: Gillette is part of the Smart Label program in the U.S. to promote ingredient transparency for people who use its products. Additionally, its parent company P&G provides product ingredient information through its product ingredient transparency page.
4. Responsibly source animal, plant and mineral-derived materials, backed by supporting credentials (e.g. Forest Stewardship Council)
5. Use 100 percent recyclable packaging.
6. Increase the amount of PCR content used in its blades and razors by 2023.

  To help support the recyclability of its products, in 2019, Gillette in partnership with TerraCycle, launched a razor recycling program in the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand, which allowed its customers to recycle any brand of used razor handle or blade along with its packaging.   “This is a program that we felt was very important and, you know, necessary to give consumers that option, should they wish, to recycle the product,” Coombe said. “That's a partnership that continues to grow. And we're going to leverage it further, as we launch new products and products that are even more specifically designed to improve the environmental profile of the razor.”   Since the program’s initial launch, the partnership has established over 21,000 public razor recycling locations globally, according to Gillette. Once the disposable razors, replaceable-blade cartridges and their packaging are collected, they are broken down and separated by material. The plastics are cleaned and turned into pellets to be recycled into new products like picnic tables and park benches and the metal materials are smelted and converted into alloys.   Aside from its 2030 goals, Gillette this week is releasing results of a global survey it conducted with research firm Lucid. The survey, which polled about 5,500 men aged 18 to 50 in 11 countries, showed more than half of the men surveyed (54 percent) care about sustainability and more than half (58 percent) say plastic waste in the environment is a very important issue to them.   Coombe said that while the survey results didn’t influence Gillette’s 2030 goals, “it's given us even more encouragement and energy to get to stay on this journey and accelerate the journey that, frankly, we've been on for 10 years already.”

Thanks to Happy Family Organics for sponsoring this post and thank you for supporting the brands that partner with me. All opinions expressed are my own.   When I quickly realized that I definitely did not have time to make all of Marin’s food I tested out some food pouches, and her favorites were all from Happy Family Organics. Needless to say I was pretty thrilled when they reached out to partner for the launch of their Stage 2 Regenerative & Organic Pouches made with ingredients grown to help reverse climate change. They also have a partnership with Terracycle so you can recycle the pouches and caps!

The National Retail Federation estimates that $2.6 billion was spent on candy for Halloween 2019. Most candy wrappers contain plastic and aluminum and cannot be recycled, says a June 23, 2019 article at candyclub.com. “Recycling mixed materials like candy wrappers or potato chip bags is simply too labor-intensive and expensive to be worth it.” Candy wrappers are often too small to pass through a recycling machine so they are diverted to a landfill where plastics make up almost 20% of all municipal solid waste, says RTS, a waste handling service headquartered in New York.

Natura, Banco do Brasil e LG são exemplos de organizações que apostam na economia verde

Apesar de a sustentabilidade ainda não ser um termo adotado por todos, muitas empresas têm demonstrado que podem, sim, impactar de forma positiva a sociedade. Diversas iniciativas estão sendo adotadas com o foco na preservação do ambiente e no melhor aproveitamento dos recursos naturais.