Gerber®, the early childhood nutrition leader, has partnered with international recycling leader, TerraCycle® to help give typically hard-to-recycle baby food packaging a new life.
This partnership is rooted in Gerber and TerraCycle’s shared values around eliminating waste and supports the recovery of hard-to-recycle baby food packaging on a national scale throughout Canada.
Participation in the program is easy – parents are invited to sign up on the Gerber® Recycling Program page and mail in baby food packaging that is currently not municipally recyclable, including flexible plastic bags, pouches and inner bags, using a prepaid shipping label.
Once collected, the packaging is cleaned, melted down and then remolded to make new products.
“We know that creating a sustainable future is critically important and especially so for today’s parents, who are raising the next generation of leaders. As the world’s largest baby food company, we are thrilled to partner with TerraCycle to reduce our carbon footprint. With this new partnership, approximately 200,000 Gerber pouches or over 1,800 kgs of packaging material, will be redirected and won’t end up in landfills. This is a significant milestone on our journey to tackle plastic waste and preserve the planet for our future generations.”
Alison McLean, President, Nutrition, Nestlé Canada.
“Through this free recycling program, Gerber is offering parents an easy way to divert waste from landfills by providing a responsible way to dispose of certain hard-to-recycle Gerber baby food packaging. By collecting and recycling these items, families can demonstrate their respect for the environment not only through the products that they choose for their children, but also with how they dispose of the packaging.”
TerraCycle CEO and Founder, Tom Szaky
The Gerber® Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization nationwide.
As an added incentive, for every pound of packaging waste sent to TerraCycle through the Gerber® Recycling Program, registered participants can earn $1 to donate to a non-profit, school or charitable organization of their choice.
Gerber was founded on the ambition to give babies the best start in life and their work doesn’t stop at nutrition.
These efforts on sustainable packaging build on more than a decade of progress and investment to achieve Nestlé Canada’s ambitious sustainability goals to make 100% of its packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025.
About Nestlé Canada
Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company present in 189 countries. Nestlé in Canada locally manufactures and/or distributes some of the world’s most recognized and trusted brands.
Its 3,700+ employees in locations across Canada are committed to Nestlé’s purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future.
In 2016, Nestlé celebrated its 150-year anniversary, and has been present in Canada since 1887.
About TerraCycle®
TerraCycle is an innovative waste management company with a mission to eliminate the idea of waste.
Operating nationally across 21 countries, TerraCycle partners with leading consumer product companies, retailers and cities to recycle products and packages, from dirty diapers to cigarette butts, that would otherwise end up being landfilled or incinerated.
In addition, TerraCycle works with leading consumer product companies to integrate hard to recycle waste streams, such as ocean plastic, into their products and packaging.
Its new division, Loop, is the first shopping system that gives consumers a way to shop for their favorite brands in durable, reusable packaging.
TerraCycle has won over 200 awards for sustainability and has donated over $44 million to schools and charities since its founding more than 15 years ago and was named #10 in Fortune magazine’s list of 52 companies Changing the World.
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Gerber® and Terracycle® Partner to Launch Recycling Program Throughout Canada