Reimagining recycling and reshaping the future

Balancing the economic equation

However, Julien isn’t blind to the economic reality we exist in. “If we go to a company and say ‘We can recycle your packaging, it’s going to cost you money to do so, but you should do it for the good of your heart’, we’re going to hit a brick wall,” he explains. “We need to find some return on investment one way or another.

“That can take many forms, whether it’s the value of the recycled material or the value of the PR and marketing that it creates.”

To give onlookers to the speech, held at the Circular Economy Stage on the first day of Packaging Innovations & Empack, an idea of the TerraCycle approach, Julien lists some of the recycling taboos the company has broken.

“We worked with Superdrug and Aldi to collect blister packs. Ten years ago, everybody would’ve said they’re not recyclable – but they are. There are ways to recycle them. You just need to create a separate collection, and drive awareness and visibility in the store to maximise volume. You then have the ability to create your own supply chain for recycling.

“We’ve been working with Walker’s to turn their crisp packet waste into linings for trucks – it’s maybe not the sexiest application, but it is an application. We work with contact lenses and glasses – even things like cigarette butts contain elements that can be cleaned and reused. Face masks are recyclable as they’re mostly made of polypropylene, which when collected and recycled separately can be turned into new products. Bank cards, guitar strings, car seats – there’s always a way to recycle them if you keep that economic equation in mind.”

Sorting out the problem

Julien argues that the answer to this equation doesn’t depend entirely on packaging, nor on regulators or the recycling industry – it depends on retailers.

“Retailers have an oversized role to play,” he says. “That is where people purchase products, so it’s where people should return them for recycling. We’re working with Wal-Mart (the US-based supermarket chain) to collect 12 different waste streams at the car parks of Wal-Mart stores. This system involves giving the end user a coupon that they can redeem for their next purchase of the product they have just returned for recycling, so there is an economic incentive for the consumer and retailer.”

Crucially, this approach also solves the problem of separating out different materials – the consumer does this when they drop their old toothpaste tubes, razors, or blister packs into the relevant receptacle. “It’s extremely important to sort waste at the source to ensure we apply the right recycling solution,” he explains. “Then we aggregate and send for recycling at our partner sites.”