#rethinkplastic . . .
If each of us just thinks of one way to reduce our personal plastic consumption, we can join the millions of companies making inroads into plastic waste reduction.
Geophysicist Kevin P. Maher points out,“It’s time to shift our mindset from recycling to reuse. We don’t want to ban plastic, we want to convert single use plastic into a multiple use plastic, or go back to using other multiple use materials. Kevin is right: recycling just isn’t working. We used to ship all our recycled plastics to China. They don’t want them any more! It turns out that less than 10 % of all plastics created were ever recycled.
In addition to the shift in plastic use in the ski resort industry that Kevin notes, other big companies have joined a major new initiative: Proctor and Gamble, PepsiCo, Mondelēz International to list but a few. A small recycling company in New Jersey called TerraCycle has a project called Loop, Bring Back the Milkman. Loop has contracted with major producers to provide their products in reusable containers which Loop will deliver, and then pick up, clean refill and deliver again. The service is being rolled out internationally in a few test cities, with about 300 products already on board. This major initiative required package redesign by the participating companies, including a new double-walled stainless steel container designed by Nestle’s Häagen-Dazs to keep it’s ice cream at the perfect temperature throughout transport. The Loop program should start in New York in May, where subscribers are being encouraged to apply to be the first customers.
The success of this program, and others like it, depends on we consumers changing our mindset. Take the first step: #rethinkplastic!
copyright Jane F. Collen April 19, 2019 IndexCardCure one small step at a time
