Nestle, PepsiCo and Unilever team up with recycling group to change its packaging
A coalition of the world’s biggest consumer brands announced they have teamed up with a recycling giant to change the world’s reliance on single-use packaging.
The new initiative was announced on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where global recycling leader TerraCycle joined massive brand partners such as PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Nestle and Procter & Gamble on stage to unveil its new project called Loop.
Loop is a new, first-of-its-kind, shopping system designed to enable consumers to “responsibly consume a variety of products in customized, brand-specific durable packaging” that is then collected, cleaned, refilled and reused.
The idea for this new approach was founded by TerraCycle and a slew of consumer product companies such as P&G, Nestle, PepsiCo, Unilever, Mars Petcare, The Clorox Company, The Body Shop, Coca-Cola and Mondelez International.
The new platform is expected to launch in Paris and New York this spring, the group said in a press release.
“Loop will not just eliminate the idea of packaging waste, but greatly improve the product experience and the convenience in how we shop,” TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky added in the release.
Szaky said through the new platform, consumers can now fully recycle packaging made from materials like alloys, glass and engineered plastics.
“When a consumer returns the packaging, it is refilled, or the content is reused or recycled though groundbreaking technology.”
However, the new system is beyond just convenient for consumers, it will help the world with not only its garbage problem but also its plastic dilemma.
According to a 2015 study from UC Santa Barbara, almost 8 million metric tons of plastic ends up the world’s oceans annually. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation adds that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.
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This is how Loop works, according to TerraCycle.
• SHOP: Consumers will go to the Loop websites, www.maboutiqueloop.fr, or Loop partner retailer’s websites and shop for trusted brands now redesigned to be packaging waste-free.
• RECEIVE: Consumers receive their durable products in Loop’s exclusively designed state-of-the-art shipping tote that eliminates the need for single-use shipping materials like cardboard boxes.
• ENJOY: Consumers experience elegance and convenience all while eliminating the idea of throw-away packaging waste.
• WE PICK-UP: There is no need to clean and dispose of the package; as consumers finish their products, they place the empty package into one of their Loop totes. Loop will pick-up directly from their home.
• WE CLEAN: Loop’s team of scientists has developed custom cleaning technologies so that each product may be safely reused.
• WE REFILL, RECYCLE OR REUSE: Loop promptly replenishes products as needed and returns the refilled shipping totes to the consumer. If there is recoverable used product such as diapers, pads, razors or brush parts, they will be recovered to be reused or recycled.