waste reclamation

The recycling hubs at Sam’s Club in Fayetteville and Walmart on Elm Springs Road in Springdale are now accepting pet food packaging, which is not recyclable through local curbside programs.

Pet food packaging is an often overlooked waste stream because it usually consists of multiple materials, like aluminum and plastic, which excludes it from curbside recycling, said Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle.

On re-naming its popular Neos Exotic cigarillo line, the company decided to find a more sustainable alternative to plastic packaging.

Frederik Vandermarliere, CEO, J. Cortès said: “We initially considered using recycled plastic, but there’s not enough of it available and biodegradable plastic hasn’t yet caught up when it comes to colour retention and strength. We, therefore, settled on a totally different approach.”

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MANUFACTURE

Single-use plastic continues to be one of the largest culprits in ocean pollution, just behind food and beauty products. Both industries make up an extra 50% of the world’s plastic waste problem. The Beauty and food industries are under pressure to create and use more sustainable packaging.