The new recyclable, HDPE packaging solution will be used for three toothpaste brands—Crest, Oral-B and Blend-a-med—in North America and Europe.
Procter & Gamble Oral Care, Cincinnati, has released its newest packaging across its Crest, Oral-B and Blend-a-med toothpaste brands. The three brands now feature recyclable high-density polyethylene (HDPE) toothpaste tubes. The company says the switch to recyclable toothpaste tubes will start in January 2021 and will continue until full conversion by 2025.
According to a news release from Procter & Gamble Oral Care, toothpaste tubes feature multimaterial construction, making them difficult to recycle. The company says its new solution, an HDPE tube, provides the same product protection as current tubes that also is certified by North American and European recycling bodies to be compatible with existing recycling technologies. According to Procter & Gamble, the new tubes can be recycled where collection programs exist.
Procter & Gamble says this new packaging design is in line with the company’s P&G Ambition 2030 commitments of achieving 100 percent recyclable or reusable packaging.
The company adds that it is in discussions with several HDPE tube suppliers and has reached an agreement with France-based Albéa to start using its proprietary Greenleaf Generation 2 tube technology, which enables the tubes to be recyclable wherever collection programs are active. Greenleaf Generation 2 tubes are recognized by the North American Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) as well as by RecyClass and SUEZ.circpack in Europe and can be recycled within the existing HDPE bottles recycling stream. To earn APR recognition, it was demonstrated that the toothpaste tubes could be converted into quality postconsumer HDPE resin and then reused to make new plastic bottles.
RecyClass is an independent cross-industry platform that assesses material recyclability and provides specific recommendations on how to improve packaging design to fit current recycling technologies in Europe. The platform certifies that Procter & Gamble’s toothpaste tube technology is considered to be compatible with HDPE recycling. It also certifies that both Procter & Gamble’s toothpaste tubes with cap product will not have a negative impact on the current European HDPE container recycling.
“Toothpaste tubes are not largely recyclable today; with the RecyClass certification for Albéa’s Greenleaf Generation 2 technology used by P&G, however, we are on the right track towards increasing both the design for recycling awareness for tubes as well as increasing recycling quality and rates for the HDPE rigids stream in Europe,” says Paolo Glerean, RecyClass chairman.
In addition, Procter & Gamble says the sortability of the tubes has been tested by SUEZ.circpack following the RecyClass sorting protocol, confirming that the tubes will flow into the correct stream and be recycled with the HDPE materials.
“Accurate sorting is an essential step to ensure recycling. That is why SUEZ.circpack performed sorting tests in a fully operational sorting facility in Germany. The facility and the technologies in place are very common for the European recycling industry. The results showed that the packaging could be correctly sorted into the HDPE material flow. The recognition of the plastic with near-infrared (NIR) technology was accurate and consistent,” says Vincent Mooij, head of SUEZ.circpack.
Last year, Colgate-Palmolive announced that it had developed a recyclable toothpaste tube made from HDPE that received APR recognition for recyclability. That tube was under development for more than five years and debuted under Colgate’s Tom’s of Maine brand in the U.S. this year. The company says it plans to fully convert to recyclable tubes by 2025.
The companies aim to open a polystyrene recycling facility in 2022 in Japan.
Agilyx Corp., Tigard, Oregon, and Toyo Styrene Co. Ltd., a Toyko-based affiliate of Denka Co. Ltd., have announced they are 30 percent complete with the final phase of developing the front-end loading design to deploy Agilyx's technology near Toyo Styrene’s facility in the Chiba prefecture of Japan.
According to a news release from Agilyx, the facility will focus on recycling postuse polystyrene (PS) plastic back to a styrene monomer. In April, Agilyx had announced the licensing of its technology to Toyo Styrene.
“We are extremely proud of the work that members of Agilyx and Toyo have accomplished to get the project to this point,” says Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx. “This further solidifies the efforts going on at Agilyx to increase global plastic recycling through circular pathways. We are excited to provide our proven solution into the Asian markets that will greatly improve recycled plastic content availability.”
Sanshiro Matsushita, president of Toyo Styrene, says Japan has “a real need” to chemically recycle PS. He adds that he is satisfied with the progress of the design development of this project. “Despite the tough situation brought on by COVID-19 at the beginning of the year, the teams at both companies have been working hard, making the best of long-distance collaboration,” Matsushita says.
Agilyx reports that the advanced recycling facility is designed to convert up to 10 tons per day of postindustrial and postconsumer PS into a styrene monomer that will be purified using Toyo Styrene’s proprietary purification process. The facility is on target to meet its goal of commencing operations in early 2022.
Raudys has been in several other positions in sustainability and environmental management.
Call2Recycle Inc., a consumer battery stewardship organization based in Atlanta, has announced that its board of directors has appointed Leo Raudys as its new chief executive officer and president, effective Jan. 1, 2021.
According to a news release from Call2Recycle, Raudys has previously worked as vice president of program development for Call2Recycle. The organization says he returns as CEO and president with a blend of public and private experience, including his most recent position as environmental director, cloud operations and innovation, for a multinational technology company. Raudys also has served as senior director, environmental sustainability, for Best Buy; deputy commissioner at Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; and taught corporate environmental management at the University of Minnesota.
In the new position, Raudys will develop the organizational strategy, partnerships, operations and management of the national Call2Recycle collection and recycling program. Call2Recycle says Raudys will guide the organization in its mission to optimize battery collection and recycling, as well as drive the organization’s portfolio of innovative battery-related services and solutions.
“We are excited to welcome Leo as Call2Recycle’s new CEO and President of Call2Recycle,” says Andrew Sirjord, chairman of Call2Recycle's board of directors. “His extensive background in sustainability and environmental management will ensure that Call2Recycle continues to uphold its deeply rooted mission to responsibly and safely manage batteries and related materials at end-of-life.”
Raudys succeeds Carl Smith, who is transitioning to president emeritus of Call2Recycle after serving for more than 12 years as the organization’s CEO and president.
“On behalf of the board, we thank and recognize Carl Smith’s leadership and contributions to Call2Recycle over the past 12 years and wish him well in retirement,” Sirjord says.
“I am honored and excited for the opportunity to rejoin Call2Recycle and assume leadership of this tremendously successful organization,” Raudys says. “As the battery market continues to evolve, I look forward to working closely with the board, staff and stakeholders to build on Call2Recycle’s strong foundation to help deliver the solutions necessary to meet our future goals.”
Call2Recycle says it partnered with Koya Leadership Partners, an executive search firm that specializes in leading mission-driven searches, to conduct the national search for the CEO and president.
Cheryl Coleman formerly worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, has announced it has hired Cheryl Coleman as vice president of sustainability. She will oversee the development and execution of an integrated strategy addressing the priorities of the segments of the recycling industry (plastics, paper and packaging) most directly affecting the residential recycling stream. ISRI says Coleman also will lead the strategic planning and execution of the association’s new recyclability protocol and other sustainable development initiatives on behalf of ISRI and its members.
Coleman comes to ISRI from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where she served as the director of the Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division. While at the EPA, Coleman led efforts to improve the U.S. recycling system, reduce food loss and waste and promote the beneficial use of industrial materials. Prior to her tenure at EPA, she was the director for compliance and enforcement for materials and wastes at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
“ISRI is elated to have Cheryl join our team,” President Robin Wiener says. “Her experience within the EPA at the forefront of efforts to further advance U.S. recycling make her keenly positioned to take the lead in sustainability efforts for the betterment of the recycling industry.
“As the voice of the recycling industry, ISRI is constantly looking for ways to better serve our members and recycling as a whole,” Wiener continues. “The creation of the vice president of sustainability position provides us with an opportunity to not only build on ISRI’s existing work in the areas of residential recycling and consumer packaging but to reach new heights.”
“I am excited about this new opportunity because recycling is essential to sustainably managing our resources by providing feedstock to manufacturing and helping ensure resources will be available for current and future generations,” Coleman says.
According to the association, “Hall of fame inductees are selected from among NWRA members who are industry visionaries and icons who have created enduring legacies through their inspirational leadership, core values and significant contributions over the course of their careers.”
The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) announced Nov. 30 that it is now accepting nominations for the NWRA Hall of Fame class of 2021.
According to the association, “Hall of fame inductees are selected from among NWRA members who are industry visionaries and icons who have created enduring legacies through their inspirational leadership, core values and significant contributions over the course of their careers.”
“I already knew we have many talented and skilled leaders within our membership, but the COVID-19 health crisis has served to magnify this,” NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith says. “I look forward to recognizing our next class of visionary leaders who have left lasting marks on the waste and recycling industry.”
The NWRA Hall of Fame class of 2021 will join the 204 inductees from 1986-2020 who have been inducted into the hall.
The application and additional information can be found on the NWRA website.