For years, it's been a real conundrum of what to do when you finish a tube of toothpaste. Does it go in the trash, can it be recycled, and, if so, where to do that?
As ThePackHub reports, Colgate and Watsons are making the process easier with the launch of a new phase of their recycling initiative in Watsons' Hong Kong stores. In 2024, the toothpaste brand and health retailer kicked off the "Small Acts, Big Smiles" recycling campaign by allowing consumers to return empty toothpaste tubes to 180 stores.
The newest phase allows people to recycle toothpaste tubes at over 120 Watsons drop-off points with customer rewards. The self-service bins make recycling even easier, so that Colgate and its partners can fashion new products out of the tubes.
Partnering with a pair of local sustainability firms, the brands will upcycle recyclable packaging into items like pens, clocks, and tableware. The unrecyclable elements will go into building materials.
The program incentivizes consumers, especially if they show brand loyalty to Colgate. They get 50 points through Watsons' MoneyBack loyalty program for each recycled tube and 100 points for Colgate-branded tubes with a recyclable packaging sticker.
"The expansion of Colgate's 'Small Acts, Big Smiles' initiative demonstrates real leadership in tackling packaging waste in a difficult-to-recycle category," Zoe Jenkins, membership manager of ThePackHub, said.
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Toothpaste tubes pose a major recycling challenge due to their complex composition. However, the partnership shows that with collaboration and proactive efforts, even tricky-to-recycle items can avoid the fate of adding to the mounting plastic pollution crisis.
This initiative not only benefits the environment by reducing plastic packaging's staggering waste but also proves that personal care products can be created from recyclable materials. Return-and-reuse schemes are a large part of Pew Charitable Trusts' proposal to cut plastic packaging's pollution contributions by 97%.
Another exciting aspect is seeing a mainstream brand like Colgate take on an eco-friendly initiative for a difficult challenge like toothpaste tubes. The company also put on an educational workshop for children to demonstrate the importance of recycling, as Marketing-Interactive reported.
The overall initiative is a great example of getting customers, brands, and retailers all on board to tackle the challenges of recycling plastic packages.
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"By combining convenience, partnerships with local recyclers, and customer rewards, the programme sets a standard for circular innovation in personal care," concluded Jenkins.
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