Consumer products manufacturer Colgate has partnered with TerraCycle to launch a recycling solution for oral care products and packaging in the UK.
Image: Colgate Dental Cream (Toothpaste) With Gardol. Photo: courtesy of Thistle33.
Through the Colgate Oral Care Recycling Programme, consumers can recycle any brand of toothbrush, toothpaste tubes and caps, toothbrush outer packaging, electric and battery toothbrush heads and toothpaste cartons for free.
After receiving the toothbrushes, tubs and caps, outer packaging and cartons, TerraCycle will separate them by composition.
They will then be shredded and melted into hard plastic pellets that can be remoulded to create new recycled products.
New products include benches and construction applications, which lowers the requirement to create new virgin plastics.
The money raised from the program will be used for the school, charity or non-profit of the sender’s choice.
Consumers can sign up to the recycling program for free, either as a private collector or as a public location, which will be visible on the TerraCycle map. Other people in that location can drop off their oral care waste for recycling.
Colgate UK general manager Philip Durocher said with the global plastics issue high on the agenda for all, the Colgate Oral Care Recycling Programme promotes sustainability.
Durocher said: “We really encourage people to take advantage of the programme and recycle their oral care products and packaging via the programme and tell their friends and family about this new recycling initiative.”
TerraCycle Europe general manager Laure Cucuron said: “Oral care products are used by all of us each and every day, so it’s one of the most frequently asked about types of products that consumers tell us they want to be able to recycle. So, we’re delighted to partner with Colgate to launch the Colgate Oral Care Recycling Programme which now enables everyone in the UK to recycle their oral care waste of any brand.”
Terracycle has also partnered with Kellogg’s for recycling of Pringles cans. From December this year, empty Pringles cans, which can currently not be recycled because the materials mix they are made from, can be sent to TerraCycle using freepost labels.
TerraCycle offers free recycling programs funded by brands, manufacturers, and retailers across the world to help collect and recycle hard-to-recycle waste.