Henkel Pledges To Help Keep Canada Clean Via Recycling
Canadian Packaging
Sustainability Plastic Adhesive Technologies Henkel AG & Company Henkel Canada Corporation KGaA Purex Sunlight Sunlight & Purex Recycling Program TerraCycleThe joint effort involved Henkel and TerraCycle working together to develop a new process that deactivates the adhesive
Keeping a country the size of Canada clean is a massive task, so it helps a great deal when consumer product giants like Henkel Canada Corporation, a subsidiary of leading
German chemical and consumer products group Henkel AG & Company, KGaA, makes an earnest pledge to keeping its packaging waste out of landfills.
Earlier this spring, the Mississauga, Ont.-based company teamed up with acclaimed international recycling leader TerraCycle, Inc. to create a free cross-country recycling program Canada for Henkel’s bestselling Sunlight and Purex brands of plastic detergent pouches.
By purchasing Sunlight or Purex pouches in Canada and recycling the empty containers through the program, Canadian consumers can earn TerraCycle points redeemable for charity gifts or converted to cash and donated to the non-profit, school or charitable organization of their choice.
“Henkel has been focusing on sustainability in packaging for several decades, and we are pleased to partner with TerraCycle to enable this creative approach to help ensure that Sunlight and Purex product packaging can be recycled after the product has been consumed,” says Henkel Canada’s general manager Mario Altan.
“This partnership is part of our commitment that 100 percent of Henkel’s packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.”
Under the Sunlight & Purex Recycling Program, consumers signed up on the TerraCyle program page can send in their empty Sunlight and Purex plastic detergent pouches to be recycled for free by mailing in the packages using a pre-paid shipping label.
Once collected, the pouches are cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products.
“Henkel is giving their customers the unique opportunity to divert waste from landfills by offering them a way to responsibly recycle their plastic detergent pouches,” says TerraCycle founder and chief executive officer TomSzaky. “The Sunlight & Purex Recycling Program provides consumers a way to keep their laundry clean, while also helping to keep the environment clean.”
In addition to individual consumers, the Sunlight & Purex Recycling Program is open to any interested schools, offices or community organization in Canada.
While this program is new to Canada, Henkel has in fact been partnering with Trenton, N.J.-headquartered TerraCycle since 2016, when the company’s Adhesive Technologies business unit launched a similar partnership with TerraCycle in the U.S. to allow its American customers to recycle their used adhesives packaging instead of sending them to a landfill or incinerator.
The joint effort involved dedicated teams from Henkel and TerraCycle working together to develop a new process that deactivates the adhesive—making it easier to remove from the plastic packaging.
This material is then melted and turned into pellets that can be used to manufacture new products—from garbage cans to park benches and outdoor furniture.
According to TerraCycle, Henkel was the first adhesive technologies company to offer this type of a recycling program.
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