Packaging

Ziploc and Recyclebank Introduce First-of-Its-Kind Initiative to Offset More Than 100 Million Pounds of Waste

Thursday 03. February 2011 - Program Encourages and Inspires American Families to Recycle More

More than 90 percent of Americans want to protect the environment(1) but only 33 percent of trash in the U.S. is actually being recycled, while 54 percent gets buried in landfills.(2) To help reverse that trend and offset its potential product waste, the Ziploc Brand is introducing a first-of-its-kind program with Recyclebank, the leading sustainable action platform that motivates and enables individuals to make a collective impact on the environment. The initiative will encourage and inspire families to increase recycling behavior to divert more than 100 million pounds of waste from landfills within 24 months. This is a step toward SC Johnson’s larger goal to, one day, achieve no waste.
“Families trust Ziploc Brand products as a resource to get more out of their daily lives, and we know these families, like us, are committed to doing the right thing for the environment,” says John Peoples, Director-Home Storage, SC Johnson. “From offering recyclable products to diverting other waste from landfills through increased curbside recycling, our goal is to keep waste out of landfills – by working together, we can make a bigger impact than on our own.”
Beginning with Corpus Christi, Texas, Ziploc aims to sponsor the expansion of Recyclebank’s impactful rewards-for-recycling platform into enough new U.S. communities to keep approximately the same amount of other waste – including glass, metals, paper and plastic – out of landfills as the amount of potential waste, measured by weight, generated by Ziploc. This initiative is part of a larger recycling program and builds on ongoing Ziploc efforts to lessen its environmental footprint.
“At Recyclebank, we know that incentivizing families can help inspire change, and through our partnership with Ziploc, we continue to increase our commitment to motivate and reward consumers for taking sustainable actions,” said Ian Yolles, Chief Sustainability Officer, Recyclebank. “We know there is not always a practical solution for brands to reduce their landfill contribution and environmental impact, and it is through partnerships like this that we are able to expand our recycling programs and work towards a goal of realizing a world where nothing is wasted.”
Ziploc Brand Bags Are Now Recyclable
Ziploc is making it easier for families to get involved and recycle. Currently, clean and dry Ziploc Brand Sandwich, Storage and Freezer Bags can be recycled at in-store bins at approximately 18,000 participating retail locations that accept plastic shopping bags for recycling. Additionally, Ziploc Brand Containers are made from polypropylene that is recyclable in a limited but growing number of communities via traditional recycling programs.
Consumers whose communities are not yet serviced by Recyclebank can still be rewarded for taking positive action. Within the next two months, they will be able to receive Recyclebank rewards points when they pledge to recycle Ziploc bags and packaging by entering the code from inside specially marked packages of Ziploc Brand Sandwich and Snack Bags.
Ziploc Brand Sustainability Initiatives
The partnership with Recyclebank is another step in Ziploc Brand’s ongoing sustainability efforts; it continues to take more strides to minimize the environmental footprint of its products across the entire lifecycle – from the materials sourced, to the energy used during manufacture and transport, to the way the products are disposed.