Collection Corner

A recycling-friendly label

Church & Dwight Co. Inc., the New Jersey-based manufacturer of Vitafusion, has announced it will use recycling-friendly shrink label packaging featuring Eastman Embrace’s LV resin and Sun Chemical’s SunLam deseaming adhesive for its Vitafusion Gummies packaging. The changes increase the recyclability of the packaging by making the labels easy to remove during the washing phase of the recycling process. The company says its full line will convert to recycle-friendly packaging by 2019.

Laurie Kirschner, director of marketing for Vitafusion, says, “Previously, the plastic bottle was recyclable, but the label created challenges for recycling. The Vitafusion brand labels will now proudly feature the highly respected ‘How2Recycle’ designation.”

Rich McNabb, global director of packaging for Church & Dwight, says, “This exciting new technology has huge potential to improve recycling for shrink-labeled packaging across many companies and industries.”

Recycling builds a solid foundation

Employees of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. completed the construction of their 10th and 11th Habitat for Humanity homes, which are funded by the airline’s Inflight Recycling program. Employees put the finishing touches on the Atlanta homes Sept. 21, the company reports in a news release.

Delta says its Inflight Recycling program has raised about $1 million for Habitat for Humanity since 2007 and has recycled more than 230 tons of aluminum.

“Helping our neighbors soar is core to who we are at Delta,” says Tad Hutcheson, Delta managing director of community engagement. “The two new homes in our backyard mark the commitment we've built with Habitat to make Atlanta and the world stronger, safer and prepared for a sustainable future.”

A beautiful partnership

New York-based eos Products, known for its lip balms, shave creams and hand and body lotions, has partnered with TerraCycle, Trenton, New Jersey, to recycle the company’s end-of-life packaging into park benches, picnic tables and bike racks.

While eos’ mixed plastics packaging is technically recyclable, it often ends up in landfills because of the high cost associated with recycling these materials, the company says. Therefore, eos has launched the eos Recycling Program with TerraCycle, available at terracycle.com/eos.

“Aligning with a partner like TerraCycle to ensure a free and easy way for our consumers to recycle was incredibly important to us as we continue to grow our sustainability efforts,” says eos Chief Marketing Officer Soyoung Kang.

For every pound of empty eos product shipped, collectors can earn $1 to donate to a school or nonprofit organization of their choice, eos says.