Dart Container launches consumer recycling program

Dart Container, a manufacturer of foodservice packaging based in Mason, Michigan, has launched the Next Life Take Back Program as an initiative to help its customers recover Dart products for recycling.

According to a news release, the program helps Dart’s U.S. customers ship their foodservice packaging to recyclers. For the program, customers can collect and clean used Dart packaging made from paper, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP) and expanded polystyrene. Customers then must visit the program website, upload proof of purchase information and buy a discounted UPS shipping label based on the type of material they plan to send. Customers can drop the box off at any UPS shipping site.

Libby Rice, who manages the Next Life Take Back Program for Dart, says the company has a long history of providing unique ways to recover and recycle its products. She says the company offered a program called Recycla-Pak to recover its polystyrene containers from the late 1990s until 2020 when she says COVID-19 stalled the program.

Rice adds that the company created the Next Life Take Back Program as an enhanced version of the Recycla-Pak program, allowing customers to send more materials to be recycled than what had been accepted in the old program.

“The Next Life Take Back Program is another way we’re honoring our sustainability commitments. It helps our customers with limited recycling options ensure the foodservice packaging they use moves to its next life,” she says. “Dart’s First Use to Next Life focus is all about supporting litter reduction efforts and boosting access to recycling. We look for this program to inspire others in the industry to offer similar options.”

Rice says Dart has partnered with several recyclers for these materials, including Wilmington, North Carolina-based PolyQuest to recycle its PET and PP containers and a partner that wants to remain anonymous for paper packaging.

“Our suppliers we are partnering with recycle these materials every single day already. This program gives those who may have difficulty with access to recycling where curbside programs aren’t consistent,” she adds. “It offers customers who are passionate about recycling a way to do that.”