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PackagingSustainability

Packaging

Bimbo, Kroger among brands using mail-in recycling for flexible packaging

More food companies join TerraCycle to ask consumers to save and ship in their packaging

By Rose Shilling
mail-in recycling

Flexible packaging, prized for less plastic and lighter weight, is still hard to recycle. Kroger and TerraCycle have a new option for 300 of the supermarket’s products.

Photo courtesy of Kroger

September 16, 2020

TerraCycle is gaining ground in the food industry with new customers for its waste reuse and recycling models.

The Kroger Co. is working with TerraCycle to give people nationwide a way to recycle flexible packaging of more than 300 products from Simple Truth, the grocery chain’s natural and organic line, which the company says is the largest brand of its kind.

And Bimbo Bakeries USA, which says it’s the largest baking company in the U.S., is making all bread, bun, bagel and English muffin packaging easily recyclable. The company, with brands including Brownberry, Entenmann’s and Sara Lee, will use all sustainable packaging by 2025, part of a larger commitment by its parent company, Grupo Bimbo.

Flexible packaging, such as produce bags, bread bags and overwrap from tissues and bottled water, isn’t accepted in curbside recycling. With TerraCycle, people or groups sign up for a brand’s recycling program online, collect plastic flexible packaging and ship it with a free prepaid shipping label. You earn points to redeem as donations to charities, based on the pounds of packaging sent .

More customers are looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprints, Kroger says.

"As the first major retailer to create a free recycling program for their own private-label brand, Kroger is offering consumers the opportunity to divert packaging from landfills and make a positive impact on the environment for future generations,” says Tom Szaky, TerraCycle founder and CEO.

Last year, Kroger became the exclusive U.S. grocery retail partner for Loop, TerraCycle's reusable packaging platform. The grocer aims to phase out single-use plastic shopping bags in stores by 2025 and use 100% recyclable, compostable or reusable packaging for its brands by 2030.

Other recent TerraCycle partners in the industry include Tailored personalized dog food, Lundberg Family Farms Rice, F. Gaviña & Sons coffee roasters, Lavazza Professional coffee, Gerber baby food, and RB for its Enfamil infant formula.

KEYWORDS: flexible packaging packaging materials packaging trends recycling sustainable packaging

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Rose shilling author

Rose Shilling is a previous managing editor of Food Engineering Magazine. She wrote feature stories on a variety of topics and tracked the food packaging industry. A journalist with an editing background at news services and newspapers, she also has driven editorial projects in health care and higher education.

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