TERRACYCLE NEWS

ELIMINATING THE IDEA OF WASTE®

Posts with term zero waste box X

Edinburgh museum using waste boxes to recycle PPE

The National Museums of Scotland are recycling disposable face masks which could otherwise end up in landfill or be littered on streets. The Edinburgh-based museum is using a solution for PPE which isn’t recyclable through conventional facilities, giving them a new life. The TerraCycle collection system is via Zero Waste Boxes which encourage people to dispose of PPE instead of throwing the items away. When full, the boxes are returned for processing and the collected waste is cleaned and melted into pellets. The material can be used to manufacture products including outdoor furniture, plastic shipping pallets, decking, watering cans, storage containers, bins, and tubes for construction..

VetPartners launches environmental PPE project

VetPartners has launched a major environmental project at 130 of its largest sites by trialling zero-waste boxes for used PPE. The boxes are provided by TerraCycle – a company that specialises in hard-to-recycle waste including PPE masks, gloves and aprons worn by clinical team members when treating patients. All PPE not contaminated with animal or pharmaceutical waste can be recycled as part of the scheme, and is collected and quarantined for 72 hours to ensure it is safe.

Announcing Ragan’s 2020 PR Daily Awards

Check out this year’s impressive list of finalists. image.png The finalists in Ragan’s 2020 PR Daily Awards represent the organizations and communications teams behind the best communications campaigns, projects, initiatives and content from the past year. Congratulations to this elite list of finalists. Stay tuned for the winner announcement in December. Campaigns, PR Events and Publications Automotive Campaign
  • Landis Communications and Velodyne Lidar, Inc: Strategic PR Campaign – Automotive
  • Mirrored Media: BMW IconicSounds Electric
  • Nissan North America: Overall Sentra PR/Social/Marketing Campaign
  • Ogilvy and Intel: Inside the AI Black Box: Mobileye
  • RepairSmith: RepairSmith Donates $100K in Free, ‘No-Contact Car Repair’ Services to Support People Experiencing Hardship During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
B2B Campaign
  • Affect: LLamasoft COVID-19 Story Hijacking Campaign
  • G&S Business Communications: DuPont Customer Narrative Program
  • Oracle: Movember
  • Oracle: “One Size Doesn’t Fit All” Research Campaign
  • Proofpoint and Axicom: Putting People at The Center: How Proofpoint Stood Out From 700+ Vendors
  • Synamedia supported by Breakaway Communications: How to Get “Up Close and Personal” for Big Results…Virtually with #SynaMEDIAday
Beauty, Fashion or Lifestyle Campaign
  • 1Milk2Sugars: NIVEA Oil-Infused Body Lotions
  • Jeneration PR: Keeping a beauty brand fresh in the era of COVID-19
  • Sally Beauty Holdings: My Black Is Beautiful
Branding Campaign
  • Blue Yonder: JDA Software Becomes Blue Yonder
  • Dashlane: Unnamed Temporary Sports Blog
  • GS&F: Salata Salad Kitchen Rebranding
  • IBM & Precision Strategies: IBM Policy Lab
  • IFS: For the Challengers
  • INLIVIAN: Housing Redefined
  • MWWPR & Milbank: The Modern Milbank
Cause-Related Marketing Campaign
  • IW Group: #WashTheHate
  • OkCupid: #BlackLivesMatter Badge
  • Oracle: Movember
  • SSPR: El Paso County Public Health Department COVID-19 Campaign
  • SPACE.tm and Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE): #Trade4Solidarity
Community Relations Campaign
  • College of DuPage: Up to S.N.O.W. Good
  • IW Group: McDonald’s Asian American Community Engagement
  • Landis Communications and Save the Redwoods League: The Campaign to Save Alder Creek
  • RepairSmith: RepairSmith Donates $100K in Free, ‘No-Contact Car Repair’ Services to Support People Experiencing Hardship During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
  • The Home Depot Foundation: Operation Surprise
  • U-Haul International, Inc: College Students: U-Haul Offers 30 Days Free Self-Storage amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Content Marketing and Brand Journalism Campaign
  • 1Milk2Sugars: Yves Rocher
  • Clarity: Entrupy’s State of the Fake: Leading the Conversation on Product Counterfeiting
Corporate Communications Campaign
  • Barings: #BaringsWFHLife
  • Love’s Travel Stops: Road to 500
  • Navy Federal: Best Careers After Service
  • R1 RCM: R1 is Grateful
  • The National Museum of African American History & Culture: We Return Fighting
  • V2 Communications: From Kanye to Daniel Dines: Securing a Forbes Cover Story
Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign
  • Clyde Group and Rover.com: Domestic Violence Foster Program
  • Ogilvy and Medela: Breastfeeding Uncovered: Four Women, Four Journeys
  • RB: RB’s Healthy You, Healthy Planet
  • The Colony Project and Aphria Inc.: Plant Positivity Winter Garden
  • U-Haul International, Inc: College Students: U-Haul Offers 30 Days Free Self-Storage amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Crisis Communication Campaign
  • College of DuPage: ChapsUnite
  • ESPN: COVID-19 Response Plan
  • NewYork-Presbyterian: COVID-19 Response
  • SPM Communications: Crisis During a Crisis: Turning Two Negatives into a Positive
  • UW Medicine: UW Medicine Covid-19 Crisis Response
Education Campaign
  • APCO Worldwide and North Carolina Community College System: Your Hire Education
  • IW Group: McDonald’s Asian American Education Initiative
  • Lifelong Learning: Learn4Life Pandemic Response Communications
  • Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation: Better Schools, Stronger Economy
Entertainment Campaign
  • IW Group: Godzilla x Steve Aoki x Johnny Dang
  • National Geographic: COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS MEDIA RELATIONS CAMPAIGN
  • National Geographic: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S 2020 EARTH DAY  INTEGRATIVE MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Event Marketing Campaign
  • Citizens Bank: Made Ready
  • Layton Construction: Healthcare Design Expo 2019
Hospitality, Travel or Tourism Campaign
  • Peppercomm: Restarting the travel industry from zero: Peppercomm and Flagship for trivago
  • The Atkins Group and South Padre Island CVB: Cook Your Catch
Influencer Campaign
  • ANDER & Co: Miami’s Gio Midtown Tap Takeover
  • Dole Food Company: Silver Lining Selfies
  • Epson America, Inc: Epson + Shaq “Just Fill and Chill”
  • GS&F: LP House
  • Mirrored Media: BMW Road to Coachella 2019
  • Praytell and evian: So Good You’d Do Anything For It
  • Technica Communications: Winnebago Accessibility-Enhanced RV Influencer Trip Garners Nearly 8 million Social Media Views
Location-Based Campaign
  • ANDER & Co: From Junior to Juggernaut: Building the Centennial Bank Brand in Florida
  • Shirley & McVicker Public Affairs: Citizens for Responsible Solar
Marketing Campaign
  • APCO Worldwide and North Carolina Community College System: Your Hire Education
  • Citizens Bank: Made Ready
  • Pollock Communications: Moon Cheese Marketing Campaign
  • Quicken Loans Public Relations: Rocket Mortgage Classic
  • The Brand Guild: Back To School With Yoobi
  • Whereoware and Cuisinart: Air Fryer
Media Pitch
  • Brand Definition: TV or Vitamin D?
  • College of DuPage: Scooby Doo
  • NewYork-Presbyterian: Staff Sing in COVID Units
  • Peppercomm: D’Artagnan: Moving the meats online during COVID-19
Niche Campaign
  • Ogivly and Intel: Mobileye D.R.I.V.E.S
  • Nissan North America: eSports Ultimate Gaming Chairs
Online Newsroom
  • Alibaba Group: Alizila
  • Blue Cross NC: Newsroom Redesign
PR Event
  • 1Milk2Sugars: Laline
  • CBRS Alliance: 10Fold Elevates New Mobile Broadband Opportunity to Vital Industry Stakeholders – Ready. Set. OnGo!
  • MSL and The Home Depot: The Home Depot Breaks Through Busy Holiday Season with Early Cheer
  • Nissan North American: Nissan Versa 2020: The Hill Country Experience
  • V2 Communications: Evolving ASG’s EVOLVE
PR on a Shoestring
  • Clarity: Entrupy’s State of the Fake: Leading the Conversation on Product Counterfeiting
  • E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University: Aimee Edmondson book promotion
  • TerraCycle: TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Box Program Gives Consumers the Power to Recycle Virtually Anything
Product or Service Launch
  • Diffusion PR: Burrow: from D2C startup to lifestyle brand
  • Nissan North America: 2020 Nissan Sentra Reveal at Los Angeles Auto Show
  • Ogilvy: The Craft Ice House by LG
  • RepairSmith: RepairSmith Donates $100K in Free, ‘No-Contact Car Repair’ Services to Support People Experiencing Hardship During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
Publications
  • Association of Equipment Manufacturers: AEM Industry Advisor
  • Marathon Strategies: COVID-19 Covered
  • MWWPR and Deloitte Global: A generation (and annual report) disrupted: Deloitte’s 2019 Millennial Survey
Social Media Campaign
  • Barings: #BaringsWFHLife
  • Dole Food Company: Silver Lining Selfies
  • IW Group: #WashTheHate
  • Mirrored Media: BMW Road to Coachella 2019
Technology Campaign
  • Diffusion PR: Amplifying the Ghostery Brand: from Browser Extension to Consumer Privacy Powerhouse
  • Haymaker Group: Launching The Augmented Reality Social Network of the Future
  • Ogilvy and Intel: Inside the AI Black Box: Mobileye
  • Ogilvy and LG Electronics USA: LG UltraGear Female Streamer Campaign
  • Trevi Communications: RightHand Robotics RightPick2 Product Launch
  • V2 Communications: Answering the Call: Tech Solutions for a Nation in Need of More Effective Emergency-Response Services
  • V2 Communications: The World is Your Backyard: Launching a First-of-its-Kind Pet Product
Thought Leadership Campaign
  • Amendola Communications (for Kaufman Hall): Advocating for Hospitals, Health Systems and Other Institutions amid a Pandemic
  • ANDER & Co: Making a Name for Pebb Capital in Saturated CRE Market
  • Axicom and Proofpoint: Standing Out in A Cybersecurity Crowd: A Proofpoint Elevation Story
  • MWWPR and Deloitte Global: A generation (and annual report) disrupted: Deloitte’s 2019 Millennial Survey
  • Pearson: Unwritten: Author and Student Perspectives on the Pandemic.
  • The Zebra: State of Auto Insurance
Viral Campaign
  • Clearlink: USDISH.com’s Stephen King Campaign: Results So Good—They’re Scary
  • Landis Communications and Peninsula Open Space Trust: POST and the Coyote-Badger Adventure
  • Mirrored: BMW Road to Coachella 2019
Website
  • Ferrovial: Ferrovial Global Website Launch
  • Smithsonian Institution / National Museum of African American History and Culture: Talking About Race
  • The National Museum of African American History & Culture: We Return Fighting
Health Care PR & Marketing Blog
  • Livongo: Livongo Blog
  • UC Davis Health: Good Food is Good Medicine
Content Marketing and Brand Journalism
  • JPA Health and National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA): MyPAnniversary
  • UC Davis Health: Year of the Nurse
Digital Publication
  • Patient Safety Authority: PATIENT SAFETY: A scientific journal with a patient’s perspective
  • UC Davis Health: Year of the Nurse
Marketing Campaign
  • MDVIP: Year of Cardiovascular Health
  • Omron Healthcare & MWWPR: HeartGuide Launch
  • Solutionreach: 202 Comeback Plan
  • The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus: This Is Breakthrough
PR or Media Relations Campaign
  • Amendola Communications: Thought Leadership & Awareness Campaign Builds Singapore Start-up Biofourmis’ Reputation in the U.S.
  • JPA Health/American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists: Up To Here
  • Livongo: Livongo COVID-19 Pandemic Response and Messaging Pivot
  • Ogilvy and Medela: Designed for Life, Medela Launches Freestyle Flex, Allowing Each Mom FLEX in Her Own Way
  • Millennium Health: Millennium Health Commitment to Clinical Excellence
  • The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus: This Is Breakthrough
Social Media Campaign
  • Blue Cross NC: COVID-19 Response Campaign
  • JPA Health / Medicines36: Birth Control is #NotAwkward: Let’s Talk About It
Thought Leadership Campaign
  • Amendola Communications for Air Methods: Amendola Helps Air Methods’ No Membership Required Program Take Off
  • Zeno Group and AstraZeneca: Making YOUR Cancer OUR Cancer
Patient-Focused Content
  • G&S Business Communications: INSIGHTEC Essential Tremor Month 2020
  • Miami Cancer Institute: Cancer Patient Education Folders
  • UC Davis Health: Good Food is Good Medicine
Video
  • Ketchum and Blue Cross NC: Anthem Live-Action Spot
  • The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus: This Is Breakthrough
Website Launch or Relaunch
  • Edelman and Regeneron: Look To Your Future
  • Fiaschetti Communications and Saama Technologies: Saama 2020 Website Refresh
  • JPA Health / Milestone Pharmaceuticals: Change of Heart: Relaunching for a Patient-Centric Website
  • The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus: This Is Breakthrough
Grand Prize Grand Prize: Health Care PR and Marketing Campaign of the Year
  • Amwell: Amwell Brings Telehealth to the Forefront During COVID-19
  • JPA Health / The Physicians Foundation: Vital Signs: Attend to Your Wellbeing
  • MDVIP: Year of Cardiovascular Health
  • Omron Healthcare & MWWPR: HeartGuide Launch
  • The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus: This Is Breakthrough
  • UC Davis Health: Year of the Nurse
Grand Prize: PR Campaign of the Year
  • Amendola Communications: Thought Leadership & Awareness Campaign Builds Singapore Start-up Biofourmis’ Reputation in the U.S.
  • Association of Equipment Manufacturers: CONEXPO-CON/AGG & IFPE PR Campaign
  • Axicom and Proofpoint: Putting People at The Center: How Proofpoint Stood Out From 700+ Vendors
  • U-Haul International, Inc: College Students: U-Haul Offers 30 Days Free Self-Storage amid Coronavirus Outbreak

VetPartners practices are committed to improving lives – and the planet

VetPartners is trialling zero waste boxes for PPE at 130 of its largest sites across the UK. The boxes are provided by TerraCycle, a company specialising in hard-to-recycle waste, and all types of PPE, including masks, gloves and aprons worn by clinical team members when treating patients, can be disposed of in the boxes as long as they are not contaminated with animal, pharmaceutical or liquid waste.

Face Masks: New Solutions to Reduce Their Negative Impact on the Environment

With the international spread of Covid-19, the global use of face masks or personal protective equipment (PPE) seems set to continue to increase. But keeping ourselves safe should not be at the cost of the planet. Organizations are developing new solutions to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Waste management company TerraCycle has Zero Waste Boxes to collect and recycle PPE, face masks and disposable gloves, explained Julia Chevalier, PR Manager at TerraCycle Europe.

Keep the planet safe by recycling PPE waste

These unprecedented COVID-19 times have underscored that single use materials are still a highly reliable and affordable solution for personal protection. Although this new reality has highlighted the public necessity for these items, it has also brought into stark contrast our vulnerabilities to pollution. Between the end of February and mid-April this year, more than a billion items of personal protective equipment were given out in the UK alone. This spike in consumption is forcing us to rethink our attitude to recycling and find a sustainable solution for this kind of waste, which would otherwise end up in landfill or often simply be littered on the streets. As the leading experts in traditionally “non-recyclable” waste, TerraCycle provides a unique recycling solution for all types of single-use PPE, which aren’t recyclable through conventional recycling facilities, giving them a new life in a variety of forms.

The COVID-19 waste problem we must address

During COVID-19 restrictions, many households bought more cleaning and disposable products than before but as restrictions ease, it is becoming apparent excess waste is a problem.
We have all needed to make adjustments during COVID-19, from setting up multiple home offices and homeschooling spaces to refraining from hugging or kissing family and friends. Restaurants and cafes have also moved across to takeaway menus in an effort to keep their businesses afloat. And in the interests of hygiene, reusable coffee cups and containers have been replaced with plastic versions and takeaway cups. Jean Bailliard, general manager for TerraCycle says there has been a knock-on effect as the amount of household waste generated has increased. “People have been buying more cleaning products — and those products are not always easy to recycle,” he says. “During times like this, we tend to buy more packaged goods like vegetables, just to be safe. As well, gloves, masks and other PPE are not recyclable. “It makes sense — it’s a natural behaviour — but in the process we have made an impact on the environment.” TerraCycle is an innovative recycling business that specialises in hard to recycle materials. These days, Jean says, the onus is very much on the consumer to dispose of their packaging with care, which is a shift from years gone by. Remember when the milkman delivered bottles of milk to your door and picked up the empties? For millions of Australians the sound of clinking glass bottles used to signal the start of the day. While many of us enjoy the convenience of buying our milk in plastic cartons from the supermarket, the responsibility for the bottle used to lie with the manufacturer. “With something like milk bottles, back in the day the product belonged to the manufacturer so it was in their best interests to make those bottles last longer,” Jean says. “By making it in cheap plastic, you saw a massive drop in recycling rates. In the past, we drank Coke in glass bottles and now we drink it from products that are harder to recycle.” He says it is easy to feel that as consumers that we have no power to change things, but that’s not necessarily the case. And now that restrictions have eased and community recycling centres are reopening, it’s the perfect time to start clearing out packaging. “The first thing is to educate yourself,” Jean says. “Check your council website to see what can and can’t be recycled. In Australia, the recycling label is a clear indication if the packaging is recyclable or not. “With soft plastics, you can take them to bins outside Coles and Woolworths.” If you want to take it a step further, Jean says it’s worth engaging with brands on social media sites like Facebook and asking questions. “With things like beauty products, see what their policy is,” he says. “When consumers challenge brands on platforms like Facebook explaining that they like the product but they want to know how sustainable it is, the brands will often respond.” Jean says most products are recyclable, it’s just a matter of how many steps there are involved in the process and whether it makes a profit. Recycled plastics have been used for everything from creating textiles for clothing through to winners’ podiums in the Olympic Games. But we could do better. “Aluminium cans are widely accepted for recycling, but aluminium coffee capsules are not, because they’re not so easy to recycle,” he says. “With the capsules, you have to separate them and get rid of the coffee grounds. It doesn’t make sense from a business standpoint.”

Better Resource Management Is the Key to Achieving All SDGs

Whether the eradication of poverty, or the support of climate positivity, all of the SDGs are about creating a balance of resource flows. Responsible production and consumption are essential to this — and achievable through connection, community and a bit of creativity.
As the adage goes: We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Just under five years ago, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were set for the year 2030: 17 targets for "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production is the concept touching all of the Goals. The earth is a finite cradle, but there can be more balance with enough to go around. Systems thinking to support responsible use of materials (such as through recycling) and equitable access to resources will give way to a more connected world.

Collaboration across the Goals is integral to responsible consumption

We at TerraCycle are of the position there is no such thing as waste — only misplaced resources. But the world doesn’t currently see it that way, which is why there is so much discarded material; especially plastic — a substance that is nearly indestructible, takes eons to break down; and could potentially be used for a great number of things, such as building housing or repairing roads. Where the human-made concept of waste is sort of black and white (something is valuable or it isn’t); collaboration across industries, governments and business sectors can bring valuable perspectives together for more opportunities to capture resources. For example, the higher up the waste hierarchy you move (landfilling to incineration to recycling to reuse), more jobs are created to keep resources such as water, natural gas, even information cycling around and used in production. This supports SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; which has many of the same priorities as SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Radical breakthroughs start with the achievable

One of the most straightforward targets of SDG 12 is to substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. The importance of keeping one eye on ideal situations (such as more consumers investing in durable goods, governments passing producer responsibility laws, or businesses designing for recyclability) while doing actionable, everyday work on the ground cannot be stressed enough. We work with global brands, retailers and municipalities to offer the world ways to consume more responsibly; it is through these partnerships that we are able to fund programs and work around the gaps in public recycling. But one of the most interesting solutions we provide is the ability for people to make a difference on their own. For the many types of packaging and products that don’t have a sponsored program or a home in municipal recycling, our Zero Waste Box division empowers people to take matters into their own hands. Consumers advance more circular use of material by working to support each aspect of the recycling system — access, participation, separation of materials, and end-markets (which we find) — with a personal investment in the global recycling network.

We can drive more action by losing gaps in data

It is difficult to put stock in responsible consumption activities when there is little or no data to support it, especially at the consumer level. Individuals look for positive impact metrics, as well as incentives, for activities such as recycling, buying secondhand, or conserving water and gas at home. More macro gaps in data on food loss and waste go hand-in-hand with incomprehensive nature systems globally. Resources must be placed against quantifying progress as systems for responsible consumption of resources improve. Better data equals better solutions and more accurate stock of policy needs and the change towards a circular economy. For example, accompanying the banning of single-use plastics in a city, country or even a school with metrics of litter reduction per mile conveys to stakeholders what’s working, what isn’t, and how to improve.
A rising middle class, a world population projected to reach 9 billion by 2050, and a planet approaching the limit of its ability to provide make responsible consumption not just a buzz topic, but a matter of survival. Whether the eradication of poverty, hunger or illness (SDGs 1-3); or the support of economic growth and climate positivity (SDG 8 and 13), all goals for sustainable development are about creating a balance of resource flows. Responsible production and consumption are essential to this — and achievable through connection, community and a bit of creativity.

Solving the Problem of Plastic Waste Is About Value Creation

Plastic in and of itself is not the problem — creating value for it is key to ensuring it doesn’t just get thrown “away.” Here are just a few of the innovations eliminating the idea of [plastic] waste.
People are awake to the issue of waste. Three years ago, people didn’t understand the issue of ocean plastic, and now they do. In our day-to-day lives, plastic is everywhere, but with China no longer buying our recyclables, every piece placed in our blue bin or purchased at the convenience store has even greater potential to add to the ocean gyres and microplastics making their way into our food chain. Though it may seem like the right thing to blame the existence of the material itself for these issues, plastic in and of itself is not the problem — it’s the fact that it is so often treated as if it is disposable, designed to be used once and is not typically widely accepted for recycling. We know plastic never fully breaks down. Wasting plastic isn’t just a loss of time, energy and finite natural resources, but active degradation of our planet and voluntary contribution to the climate crisis. Creating value for it is key to ensuring it doesn’t just get thrown “away.” Here are just a few of the innovations eliminating the idea of [plastic] waste.

Reduce, reuse — and reduce some more

At TerraCycle, we may be known for “recycling the unrecyclable,” but reduction prevents waste from occurring in the first place. For consumers, this may mean buying less and looking to borrow or reuse instead of buying new. For brands and industry, this means creating consumption models that require fewer plastic resources. Ride- and car-sharing services such as Lyft and Zipcar may not immediately come to mind, but these examples of sharing-economy models offer access to goods without ownership, offsetting the need to purchase. One less car on the road equals less of the gas, maintenance and water required to produce it, let alone drive. And since plastic makes up roughly 15 percent of the average car by weight, it fits.

Design differently

Packaging design is changing minute by minute, and many upgrades are doing away with plastic entirely. S’well and Klean Kanteen are popular brands of stainless-steel beverage containers replacing the disposable water bottle, also moving away from other reusable plastic bottles on the market. But again, plastic isn’t the problem. TerraCycle’s new circular shopping platform, Loop, features hundreds of consumer goods housed in durable versions of their previously single-use packaging. The products are offered in a combination of glass, stainless steel, aluminum and engineered plastics. The durable plastics are designed to last up to 100 uses; and when they do wear out, we recycle them, cycling the value of the material continuously.

Go naked

Farmer’s markets and craft fairs still sell their wares “naked” before they offer you a plastic bag, but there was a time where the consumer was responsible for bringing their own containers. The point of packaging is that it makes it easier and more convenient to buy goods, in addition to allowing inventory to be distributed, so reducing or doing away with packaging needs to create value (aka sell and be profitable) in order to work and be sustainable. Lush Cosmetics makes little to no packaging work as an extension of its brand identity. In addition to reusable metal tins, colorful cloth knot-wraps, and 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic pots (some of it ocean plastic), 35 percent of Lush products are sold “naked,” allowing consumers to touch and smell in a retail experience that harks back to the shops of yore. Competitive with premium natural care brands, going package-less illustrates Lush’s ethos and serves as a model for others in the industry.

#RecycleEverything

Everything can be recycled — it’s just a matter of someone being willing to pay for it, which is why so many plastics aren’t. To solve for their plastics, some producers of consumer goods work with us to sponsor the collection, logistics and processing for TerraCycle’s variety of national recycling programs, made free to consumers. Through these programs, individuals and groups send in items including food and drink pouches, cosmetics packaging — even cigarette butts, the most littered item in the world. But with so many complex plastics in the world, there isn’t always a sponsor for its solution. Our highly customizable Zero Waste Box™ (ZWB) platform is another way for brands and businesses to offset their plastic impacts by offering it as part of their product lines at retail. Events, factories and public facilities also use it to supplement waste-reduction efforts for visitors and employees, solving for common streams such as packing and shipping material, breakroom items, and research disposables (i.e. gloves, disposable clothing, pipet tips). In areas of the country where recycling is entirely lacking, or certain plastics are not accepted (dark and colored plastics are not recyclable most places [more on that shortly], and some places don’t accept #5, for example), ZWBs are a solution for residents and businesses looking for the public system to catch up.

Invest in recycling technologies

Recycling more plastic is hindered by the fact that most recyclers don’t want it. Using post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials can present challenges with color, aesthetics and feel. In manufacturing, there is a need to find more end markets for colored and opaque plastics, as these are considered difficult to recycle because they are less versatile than clear, or virgin, plastic. Chemical recycling (depolymerization) is one option to decolor recycled plastics, but that certainly requires more infrastructure investment. These processes have the ability to remove pigments, dyes and additives to produce “virgin-like resins” that are competitive with virgin raw material. For example, Procter & Gamble recently invented the PureCycle Process and licensed it to PureCycle Technologies to open a plant to restore used polypropylene (PP, or #5 plastics) to “virgin-like” quality and remove colors and contaminants.

Explore new “plastics”

There is promise in exploring new materials — such as bioplastic derived from natural, renewable feedstocks instead of petroleum; and biodegradable plastics that supposedly break down in the natural environment, with considerations. Consumers certainly connect with the concept of a plastic made from plants, but before we go any further, humanity has pretty much maxed out agricultural land. Offsetting demand for petroleum-derived plastics with plant-derived bioplastics would call for millions of additional acres of agricultural space. The technology exists for things such as fruit juice waste, sewage, algae, pine trees and straw, but the infrastructure isn’t there. Moving on to biodegradable bioplastics, the compostability of compostable plastics is akin to the recyclability of plastics in general. All can be effectively processed, but most compostable plastics need an industrial facility. They won’t break down in your backyard pile, let alone the ocean or in a landfill, and there are only a handful of composting facilities in the United States. What’s more, many composters don’t want this in their piles, because most so-called biodegradable plastics don’t break down into nutrient-rich material as, say, food scraps or yard clippings do. What producers can do in this area is ensure their exploration of new materials is in line with the system as it is currently. Club Coffee — a major Canadian roaster, manufacturer and distributor of packaged coffee — created the world’s first 100 percent compostable, BPI Certified, plant-based coffee capsule, an item once called the “environmental boogeyman.” The pods break down in as little as five weeks without releasing toxins in the earth, or a composter’s product. This innovation, like all of the best innovations in plastics, account for the inputs of all stakeholders. Governments can certainly drive change by subsidizing research and incentivizing environmentally preferable use of material to ease the financial risks. What’s key here is the creation of value for consumers, governments, businesses and investors around solutions for the plastic pollution crisis, to ensure it works in the world as it is, to create the space for even greater systems change.

Cue the Q4 holiday overconsumption

Changing this paradigm around special days comes down to one thing: shop differently. Think quality over quantity during today’s Cyber Monday sales, focusing on what those on your list need and on products that enable positive consumption. For examples, TerraCycle’s recycling boxes might make a useful gift or reduce excess holiday waste in the home or office, and many brands, like S’well (a double good buy for reusability), are offering discounts alongside donations to good causes peak shopping days.