Partnership with TerraCycle enables consumers nationwide to recycle oral care products and packaging.

London, 1 November 2018: Colgate® is exclusively partnering with recycling experts TerraCycle to launch the Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme, a free Nationwide recycling solution for oral care products and packaging in the UK. 

The Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme is a new recycling fundraising programme which enables people to recycle any brand of toothbrush, toothpaste tubes and caps, toothbrush outer packaging, electric and battery toothbrush heads and toothpaste cartons for free whilst raising funds for the school, charity or non-profit of the sender’s choice.

Oral care products and packaging comprise of a complex mix of materials such as rigid and flexible plastics and bristles which is why it hasn’t been recyclable traditionally through council recycling systems in the UK.  Now following the launch of the new Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme, once TerraCycle receives toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and caps, outer packaging and cartons they will be separated by composition, shredded and melted into hard plastic pellets that can be remolded to make new recycled products such as benches and construction applications, which reduces the need to create new virgin plastics.

Anyone can sign up to the Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme for free at www.terracycle.co.uk either as a private collector or as a public location which is visible on the TerraCycle map which enables other people in that area to drop off their oral care waste of any brand for recycling as well. TerraCycle rewards shipments of over 200 grams (approx. 15 pieces of oral care products / packaging) with TerraCycle points. A shipment over 1kg in size (approx. 77 pieces of oral care waste) is rewarded with a 100 TerraCycle point donation to the school, charity or non-profit of the sender’s choice. 100 points are worth £1.00 

Philip Durocher, General Manager Colgate UK commented: “With the global plastics issue high on the agenda for all, the Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme promotes sustainability 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.”

Laure Cucuron, General Manager, TerraCycle Europe: “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.”

For more information on or to sign up for free to the Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme go to www.terracycle.co.uk.

 

Notes to Editors

About the Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme

HOW IT WORKS

 

Participating is completely free and very easy. 

This recycling programme is open to all individuals, schools, organisations (charities, town halls, local authorities) and companies based in the UK. If you do not have a TerraCycle® account yet, there are two steps you will need to complete to register for the Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme.

1. You must create an account at www.terracycle.co.uk by clicking on the sign-up button and filling out the form.
2. Then click "join programme for free" on The Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme page.

Then when the collector wants to post a shipment, they download a free UPS label from their account, attach it to the shipment and then simply order a free pick-up via UPS by calling 03457 877 877 or book a collection online. UPS will then collect from their location. Or the parcels can also be dropped off at the nearest UPS drop-off point.

For each shipment over 200 grams for the Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme, the sender receives TerraCycle® points. 100 points is earned per kilo. 100 TerraCycle® points represents £1.  The points can then be redeemed to the school, charity or non-profit of the sender’s choice.

Once received by TerraCycle®, the oral care products and packaging are sorted and separated by material composition. The separated items are then cleaned, shredded, and the recycled pellet material is used by manufacturers to make products such as benches and fence posts rather than using new virgin plastics.

 

Pictured above: The accepted waste image showing all the types of oral care waste accepted on the programme.

About Colgate-Palmolive:

Colgate-Palmolive is a leading global consumer products company, tightly focused on Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition. Colgate sells its products in over 200 countries and territories around the world under such internationally recognized brand names as Colgate, Palmolive, Speed Stick, Lady Speed Stick, Softsoap, Irish Spring, Protex, Sorriso, Kolynos, elmex, Tom's of Maine, Sanex, Ajax, Axion, Fabuloso, Soupline and Suavitel, as well as Hill's Science Diet, Hill's Prescription Diet and Hill's Ideal Balance.

For more information about Colgate's global business, visit the Company's web site at http://www.colgatepalmolive.com. To learn more about Colgate’s Sustainability Strategy, visit http://www.colgatepalmolive.com/en-us/core-values/sustainability. To learn more about Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures® oral health education program, please visit http://www.colgatebsbf.com.

ABOUT TERRACYCLE

Founded in 2001, TerraCycle (www.terracycle.co.uk) is the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste. TerraCycle works with over one hundred major brands in twenty-one countries across the globe to collect used packaging and products that would otherwise be destined for landfills. It repurposes that waste into new eco-friendly materials and products that are available online and through major retailers. The waste is collected through TerraCycle’s National recycling programmes, which are free fundraisers that pay schools, charities and non-profits for every piece of waste they collect and return.

TerraCycle launched in the UK in September 2009 and currently runs collection programmes for cracker and biscuit wrappers, baby food pouches, writing instruments, air and home care waste, beauty care product packaging, Tassimo & L’OR coffee pod / TDISC waste and cigarette waste.  Currently more than 1,956,000 individuals and organisations across the UK have signed up to collect, which to date has diverted over 48 million items of packaging waste from landfill (around the weight of a jumbo jet) while earning over £664,000 for schools, charities and non-profit organisations.