Dozens of major brands have partnered to launch this ambitious new packaging model in the U.S. and France. TerraCycle and Suez break down how it could change the waste equation in the coming decades. After years of quiet planning and rigorous testing, TerraCycle has unveiled what it believes will be a revolutionary change in packaging: Loop. Debuted at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week, the new shopping system is the first of its kind to offer hundreds of name brand products in reusable and refillable packaging. In addition, many products traditionally viewed as inefficient to process — pens, diapers, razor blades — will now be recycled for the first time in many areas. This builds on the New Jersey company's foundational business of finding value in what is considered unrecyclable — but on an entirely new level. Designed to be more attractive and functional than common versions, these new goods will be available on a pilot basis in the U.S. and France, starting this spring. With the convenience of delivery and pick-up service via online ordering — and eventually at retail stores — Loop is being billed as a rare opportunity to wean consumers off single-use disposability. "The thesis of Loop is we want to bring about the future of consumption, and the tenet of that would be the idea that waste doesn't exist," said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky in an interview with Waste Dive.  

 

A new consumer culture?

Procter & Gamble and Nestlé (both founding investors) — along with PepsiCo, Unilever, Mars Petcare, The Clorox Company, The Body Shop, Coca-Cola European Partners, Mondelēz International and Danone — are among the initial partners that have designed new packaging for Loop. Achieving this level of participation from the companies behind so many household brands was seen as essential for consumer buy-in. According to Szaky, a key component is elevating the experience of reusable shopping (beyond its current niche version of bringing mason jars and cloth bags to a local bulk store) through added convenience and an element of "luxury." Prices are expected to be comparable to current options aside from a refundable deposit, and many containers are made from glass, stainless steel or durable plastic. Some, such as a new Häagen-Dazs container, will even keep products frozen or fresh for longer. As envisioned, this system will start out as a delivery/pick-up service — something Szaky has previously described as akin to the old "milkman" model. UPS will deliver the products in reusable shipping bags, and once consumers are done, transport the bags to a regional cleaning facility, where containers will be sanitized and products recycled. This is said to be the first time feminine care products and diapers will be recycled in France, and the first time for razor blades in the U.S. "There are some big firsts baked into Loop, and that's really using a lot of TerraCycle's original competency. If it's reasonable to recover and reasonable to reuse, then it must be reused, is the rule," said Szaky. The pilot program is expected to launch this spring in the Paris metro area and the New York City area – including parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. French retailer Carrefour has signed on as a partner, and a U.S. retailer is in the works. While the initial list of participating companies have had to make upfront investments in new packaging design (though on a limited scale to start), the ability to meet both consumer demands and sustainability targets is seen as worth the price of admission. A spokesperson for the French unit of Coca-Cola European Partner (CCEP) told Waste Dive it sees a way to expand existing refillable glass bottle sales and "bring this unique experience directly to consumers at home in line with a no waste vision and our sustainability strategy." Loop is considered a clear fit for CCEP's "This Is Forward" plan — part of Coca-Cola's broader "World Without Waste" initiative  to ensure all packaging is recyclable and fully recovered by 2025. Other major partners — including Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever and Mondelēz International — have set their own future sustainability targets or made financial commitments to recycling initiatives in recent years. While these pledges have often been met with skepticism from major environmental groups, it's possible this Loop announcement may be perceived differently. Szaky noted that eight of the 10 companies on a 2018 Greenpeace list of the most commonly found brands in ocean clean-ups are Loop partners — a potential signal of their willingness to take more ownership over plastic pollution. Greenpeace itself is also participating in the Davos launch event.  

 

A world without "garbage"

Loop might be an easier fit for regulatory trends in European countries that encourage more recycling (though it will be exempt from extended producer responsibility rules), but it could prove a greater shock to the U.S. system if scaled successfully. The most directly affected parties will be packaging manufacturers — glass, for instance, might see more demand, while single-use plastic demand could decline. The potential decrease in tonnage for both waste and recycling collections also raises questions of what Loop will mean for the U.S. waste and recycling industry itself. "I'd say at the very beginning, if I was working over at Republic or Waste Management or even Waste Connections (Waste Connections owns a quarter of our Canadian company) I think they wouldn't even see this as a threat because it would seem super small compared to what is in the dumpster," said Szaky. "The real question is 10, 20, 30 years from now, if durable, reusable, repairable, that type of movement really hits scale — and I think Loop could be one of the vehicles that accomplish that — then you may see an effect on the loads, and unless you get involved in that, then you would see it competitively." Last year, Waste Connections CEO Ron Mittelstaedt told Waste Dive he believes "reuse is the pathway that will help diversion by non-generation" in future decades, although he didn't directly mention TerraCycle. No U.S. waste and recycling industry companies have invested in Loop to date. Suez, the France multinational that has a stake in TerraCycle's European operations, invested 4% in Loop. The company also partnered with Procter & Gamble and TerraCycle to launch a shampoo bottle made of ocean plastic at Davos in 2017. Jean-Marc Boursier, senior executive vice president of recycling and recovery at Suez's Northern Europe division, feels the concept fits into his company's view that increasing waste volumes can't be the primary corporate growth metric. According to Boursier, rising GDP, industrial activity and population growth should all be considered signs of a healthy economy — but that doesn't necessarily have to translate to more waste. "The question is, can we optimize waste production, and do we need to still dump everything into a very large landfill?" said Boursier, referring to the U.S. market. "Or, shall we consider waste as not only a nuisance, but as a product that we could transform into something more valuable?" Boursier declined to offer any direct advice on how U.S. service providers that still derive a significant portion of their revenue from landfills could adapt to such a model. Speaking about companies in general, he offered this outlook: "Either you enter — if you have an industrial company — into this world of circular economy with a negative view, where you believe that it is a constraint and it might have some increased costs at first glance. In which case you will be very reluctant to change the world — and we need to change our way if we are going to protect the planet," he said. "Or you take the lead and you try to differentiate yourself positively." Boursier sees Loop as a way for big brands to do that, adding that while it's too soon to know the full potential, "I believe it can change the world."  

 

Next steps

After the first two pilots launch this spring, Loop is expected to expand into the London area in late 2019 with retailer Tesco. Toronto, California and Tokyo — in conjunction with the 2020 Summer Olympics — are on tap for next year. According to Bloomberg, the company has invested an estimated $10 million in this concept. Asked how he sees this growing as part of TerraCycle's business, Szaky noted that the timeframe might be long, but the change will be apparent when the company's market share in a given area shifts away recycling disposable products to durable ones. Based on life-cycle assessments, consumers will need to reorder products upward of five times for the environmental effects to even out. Watching how many repeat participants Loop can attract, and at what scale, will be key to tracking its progress. In the meantime, Szaky is also still looking for acquisition opportunities in specialized waste streams — such as the 2018 purchase of light bulb recycler Air Cycle — and remains open to a scenario in which TerraCycle's core business of recycling challenging materials shrinks as Loop grows. When asked if the long-term plan was to still file for an IPO once the company approached $70 million in revenue, Szaky replied: "It absolutely is, and Loop just helps us get there faster."

A large number of global consumer companies have launched an initiative to reduce waste from packaging. Through the Loop service, companies like Unilever, Nestle and Coca Cola are planning to offer reusable packaging that is collected after use and then refilled and reused. Photo: Walk Some of the world's largest consumer companies have joined forces with the recycling company TerraCycle to launch a global shopping system for reusable packaging. The shopping system Loop has been developed to reduce the world's dependence on disposable plastic by offering circular solutions for consumer products. Through Loop, companies plan to offer consumers reusable packaging that is collected after use and then cleaned, refilled and reused. Loop was launched during the World Economic Forum's Davos Summit. Over 20 global consumer companies have been involved in financing Loop, including Procter & Gamle, Nestle, Unilever, Pepsi, Coca Cola and Body Shop. Food chains such as British Tesco and the logistics company UPS also participate in the initiative. "Loop is a long-awaited innovation that challenges companies to take a new grip on our value chains and integrate reusable product packaging as part of our work to reduce waste," says Laurent Freixe, CEO of Nestlé in the US, in a comment. According to the life cycle analyzes that Loop has carried out together with its partners, the environmental benefits of the long-lasting products show that they are better than for disposable packaging, while at the same time the waste is reduced. Loop will be launched in the spring in France and the Northeast USA. The service is expected to be launched in more countries in 2019 and 2020. A spokesperson from Loop tells Current Sustainability that so far there are plans to launch the service in the UK, Canada and Tokyo, but more markets are expected to be in the future.

Last summer, UPS and TerraCycle offered proof that similar plans could work, as the companies announced they had successfully diverted 40 million pounds of waste from landfills due to their partnership.

Med sine globale told- og logistikløsninger har fragtfirmaet UPS hjulpet genanvendelsesvirksomheden TerraCycles med at omdirigere 20 millioner kilo affald siden 2012.

Global customs and logistics solutions by UPS are powering TerraCycle’s mission to transform hard-to-recycle items like toothpaste tubes and snack bags into new products, diverting 40 million pounds of waste from landfills since 2012. UPS’s unique customs expertise and technology solutions helped TerraCycle grow its global recycling programs and customer base, which means less waste. Over the last five years, for instance, TerraCycle has turned 3.5 billion pieces of waste into useful products like trash cans and park benches. The collaboration reflects UPS’s commitment to solving environmental challenges and helping customers achieve a more sustainable global supply chain focused on waste reduction, reuse and recycling.  

Alright, it is that "Back to School Shopping" time of year again, and honestly, I remember loving it as a kid. When else could I get my Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper with awesome Lisa Frank folders, none of which would get much use during the year (organization has never been my game). I also loved the new outfits and getting dressed up for the first day  of school- I mean, come on! Who can step to that freshness!? It's a sunflower hat and a jumpsuit for goodness sake! On the other hand, businesses like to create a panic that your students NEEDS about 100 things. Of course you need 75 glue sticks- you don't want to raise the pariah with only 74! These stores and schools push these epic lists, but what do your kids actually need? My Dad wrote a blog over at Curmudgecation  from the teacher's perspective about what exactly needs bought for Back to School- his bottom line? Chill. You don't need as much as you think, and good communication with the teacher might surprise you about what can be helpful to send with your student to school. If you really want to help them out, a box of tissues (which you can get recycled!) might be a lot more help than buying yet another single glue stick to dry out by the end of the year.

I think one of the best things that you can teach your kids is the value of money. Obviously, parents are going to disagree about the specifics but the basics – what it is, how you use it, the importance of spending or saving it wisely – are pretty universal. When it comes to kids saving and earning money, it may also be time to talk kiddie tax. The kiddie tax is the tax imposed on kids at the parents’ tax rate and not at the lower rate of the child when income reaches certain thresholds. The rules can be tricky and depend on a number of factors, including the age of the children, as well as the amount and source of the income.