Canadian consumers can send their damaged or excess reusable bags to TerraCycle for reuse or recycling.
ThePackHub
There has been substantial activity in recyclable packaging innovations as the 2025 targets to achieve 100% recyclable packaging get even closer. As the months of 2024 unfold, it will be interesting to observe how many companies revise their targets downward.
Walmart Canada Launches National Pilot Program for Recycling Reusable Shopping Bags
Walmart Canada is launching a national pilot program for customers to recycle their reusable shopping bags. Under the plan, customers can send in their extra or damaged Walmart reusable blue shopping bags to TerraCycle, who will either wash and donate them to charity partners, including Food Banks Canada, or recycle them. Recycled bags will be processed into raw materials for items like shipping pallets and outdoor furniture. Walmart Canada’s senior manager of sustainability stated that the program allows Canadians to give their excess or damaged reusable bags a second life, preventing them from ending up in landfills. Customers can sign up for the scheme on TerraCycle’s website and send bags in a box or shipping envelope with a minimum of five bags per shipment, provided with a free shipping label. Enrollment limits apply, and customers will be added to a waiting list if the program is full. Canada banned single-use plastic shopping bags in December 2022, but Walmart Canada had already stopped offering them in April that year to prevent a reported 680 million plastic bags from entering circulation annually.
Coca-Cola's Smartwater Launches Aluminum Cans
The Coca-Cola Company’s Glacéau Smartwater brand is launching 12-oz. (355 ml) aluminum cans featuring a fresh visual design, aiming to align with consumers’ environmental concerns while offering convenient consumption during the spring and summer seasons. The sleek and elegant cans retain the brand’s colour palette from bottle packaging, distinguished by silver drop designs and different background colors for each variety. With an eye on sustainability, the use of aluminum cans reflects a growing consumer interest in non-plastic packaging without compromising convenience. Initially available in single cans and 8-packs across the United States, this marks the first-time vapor-distilled water will be sold in individual cans, according to the company.
Baileys Offers Aluminum Bottle Format
The Diageo-owned Baileys brand introduced new packaging at duty-free shops in European airports, followed by availability in German supermarkets and drinks retailers. Compared to the previous glass bottles weighing 454g, the new bottles weigh only 85g, resulting in a projected 44% reduction in their life-cycle carbon footprint. Both glass and aluminum formats are recyclable, with aluminum highlighted for its infinite recyclability. The new bottles include a 4g plastic thread on the bottleneck but can be fully recycled at home. Baileys highlight this innovation as part of the brand’s commitment to the B Corp movement and outlines future sustainability goals towards 2030. Diageo’s broader sustainability strategy aims to reduce packaging weight by 10% and increase recycled content to 60% by 2030, with a focus on making all packaging widely recyclable, reusable, or compostable. Packaging innovations play a significant role in achieving the company’s ambitious climate targets, with packaging reported to contribute to one-third of Diageo’s total Scope 3 carbon emissions.
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