Zero Waste Boxes allow eco-conscious bakery and snack producers to recycle once ‘unrecyclable’ equipment

By Gill Hyslop

- Last updated on GMT

TerraCycle's Zero Waste Boxes is the first comprehensive recycling solution for 'everything'. Pic: TerraCycle
TerraCycle's Zero Waste Boxes is the first comprehensive recycling solution for 'everything'. Pic: TerraCycle

Related tags TerraCycle Waste landfill plastic waste environmental footprint

TerraCycle has created a range of Zero Waste Boxes, designed to allow manufacturers to recycle once ‘unrecyclable’ items used in food-contact environments, giving them a ‘second’ life and saving thousands of pieces of plastic from landfill.

With a growing spotlight on the waste crisis, the boxes provide an answer for food manufacturers to tranquilly continue using equipment that is typically not collected by councils and waste management companies for recycling.

Items like hair nets, earplugs, disposable gloves and safety equipment are considered ‘hard-to-recycle’ due to the mix of materials they contain that makes separating and processing too complex and expensive.

TerraCycle, however, does recycle these items, and is providing its Zero Waste Boxes to eco-conscious producers to fill with the relevant waste.

Once full, prepaid shipping labels enables the box to be returned to TerraCycle’s Materials Recovery Facility, where its contents are sorted into categories based on material composition. This is stored and aggregated until the necessary volumes for processing have been achieved, and then sent on to third-party processing partners that recycle the materials into usable forms.

Reduce your environmental footprint

Zero Waste Boxes are easy to set up and use, making them the perfect option for manufacturers, as well as households, schools, businesses and events looking to offset their impact and reduce their environmental footprint.

There are four boxes in the range, each designed for specific waste, namely the Safety Equipment and Protective Gear Zero Waste Box; the Disposable Gloves Zero Waste Box; the Disposable Gloves and Face Masks Zero Waste Box; and the Beard Nets and Hair Nets Zero Waste Box.

The cost of the box covers the box itself, shipping, storage at the Materials Recovery Facility and processing costs, as well as the costs of transporting and sorting the waste.

TerraCycle was founded in 2001 and has grown into the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste.

The company works with hundreds of major brands in 21 countries across the globe to collect used packaging and products that would otherwise be destined for landfills.

The waste is collected through TerraCycle’s National recycling programmes, which are free fundraisers that pay schools, charities and non-profits for every piece of waste they collect and return. That waste is then repurposed into new eco-friendly materials and products available in retail.

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