MARS, Inc. and Terracycle partner on innovative waste reduction program
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
One of the world’s largest food manufacturers partners with leading upcycling firm to reduce packaging waste
On April 20, 2009 Mars, Incorporated’s five business segments – Chocolate, Petcare, Wrigley, Food, and Drinks -- and upcycling company TerraCycle announced TerraCycle’s largest-ever corporate partnership.
TerraCycle will produce affordable, high-quality consumer goods by repurposing surplus and used packaging from more than 20 Mars brands, including: leading confectionary brands such as M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, MILKY WAY®, TWIX®, STARBURST®, SKITTLES®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, JUICY FRUIT®, DOUBLEMINT®, WRIGLEY’S SPEARMINT®, ORBIT®, EXTRA®, FREEDENT®, ECLIPSE®, 5®, WINTERFRESH®, BIG RED®, LIFE SAVERS®, and ALTOIDS®; dog and cat food brands PEDIGREE®, NUTRO® and THE GOODLIFE RECIPE®; and food and drink brands UNCLE BEN’S®, SEEDS OF CHANGE®, and FLAVIA®.
TerraCycle will repurpose waste packaging from Mars’s U.S. operations into products ranging from cell phone holders and laptop sleeves to messenger bags, significantly reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills. Mars will also sponsor TerraCycle ‘Brigade programs,’ in which organizations can raise money by collecting used packaging from participating brands and sending it to TerraCycle.
This is good for both the environment, Mars' image and people being able to buy snazzy upcycled products that have a very small carbon footprint.
Mars has committed to reducing its waste by 3 percent a year. Reducing waste is one of four areas Mars focuses on in its sustainability initiatives, along with reducing its use of energy and water and ensuring the sustainability of raw materials used in its products, such as cocoa. Mars’s overall sustainability goal is to minimize its footprint on the planet to help restore the planet for the next generation.
Richard Ware, Vice President of Supply Chain, R&D and Sustainability at Mars says: “We at Mars take very seriously our responsibility to uphold our efficiency principle and cut waste. This partnership with TerraCycle demonstrates Mars’s ongoing commitment to making a difference by reducing the impact of our manufacturing plants on the planet each year.”
TerraCycle distributes its products across the U.S. and plans to expand into Mexico, Brazil, Canada and the UK over the coming year. TerraCycle products are available in some of the biggest U.S. retailers, such as Wal-Mart, Target and Petco.
Tom Szaky, founder of TerraCycle, said: "The commitment to waste reduction shown by Mars is very exciting. This partnership will enable TerraCycle to increase exponentially the amount of waste we upcycle in a given year. Our experience with companies similar to Mars shows it’s possible to reduce packaging waste through partnerships such as this by upwards of 3,000 tons a year. Partnering with Mars’s iconic brands creates an incredible opportunity to have a positive impact on our environment."
Mars, Incorporated is a private, family-owned company founded in 1911 and employing 70,000 associates at 250 sites, including 151 factories, in 67 countries worldwide.
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, U.S.A., Mars, Incorporated is one of the world’s largest food companies, generating global revenues of more than $30 billion annually and operating in six business segments: Chocolate, Petcare, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, and Symbioscience. These segments produce some of the world’s leading brands: Chocolate – M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Petcare – PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, SHEBA®, CESAR®, and ROYAL CANIN®; Wrigley – ORBIT®, EXTRA®, STARBURST®, DOUBLEMINT® and SKITTLES®; Food – UNCLE BEN’S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS® and SEEDS OF CHANGE®; Drinks – KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience – WISDOM PANELTM MX, SERAMIS®, and COCOAPROTM. For more information, please visit www.mars.com.
In 2001, Tom Szaky, a Princeton University Freshman, founded TerraCycle in hopes of building an eco-capitalist company built on waste. After winning countless business plan contests, Tom dropped out of Princeton to pursue his dream of founding the world’s most environmentally friendly company. Seven years later, TerraCycle’s eco-friendly products have received a myriad of social and environmental accolades and are sold at major retailers like The Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods Markets. TerraCycle’s business plan and products made from waste received a Zerofootprint Seal of Approval, won The Home Depot’s Environmental Stewardship Award twice and recently won the 2007 Social Venture Network Innovation Award. Please visit us at www.terracycle.net to learn more.
The sooner, I must say, we get Terracycle into the UK the better for the amount and mountain of such packaging that is going to landfill in this country is phenomenal.
Personally I look forward to being able to see more and more of such products coming onto the market. The more there are the less stuff will end up in landfill and that is good for we are rapidly, especially in the UK, running out of holes in the ground.
When we look at the litter bins, for instance, in school yards and municipal parts, they are full of post-consumer packaging of the likes of wrappers of MARS products as well as the likes of Capri Sun pouches.
The sooner we can get someone in Europe do something with those the better for all.
© 2009
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MARS, Inc & TERRACYCLE PARTNER
