One of the most compelling and interesting components of the sustainability movement is that it has forced companies to think far beyond the normal parameters of their standard operating procedures.
Case in point, Garnier, the beauty and skin care products producer, has figured out a way to turn its packaging waste into gardens. Teaming up with TerraCycle, an upcycling and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and repurposes the material, Garnier recently launched an initiative called the Garnier Green Garden.
The Garnier Green Garden campaign creates community gardens made from non-recyclable post-consumer beauty waste. The campaign began by transforming more than 1,500 pounds of recycled personal care packaging waste into a Green Garden in Harlem. Garnier and TerraCycle then overhauled a garden at a special needs school in the Bronx.
To further the scope of the program, Garnier and TerraCycle introduced a “Where Should Our Garden Grow?” campaign to award one recipient with a new community garden. After a public voting period, The ReFresh Project of New Orleans was named the winner. The ReFresh Project’s ReFresh Community Farm is a new teaching farm located in Treme/Mid-City New Orleans. The new garden will reportedly be capable of yielding more than 2,000 pounds of vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers.
“The plastic components of the garden, such as raised beds, picnic tables, and trash receptacles are made from recycled beauty-care packaging waste collected through Garnier’s Personal Care and Beauty Brigade®,” said the company. “The Brigade is a free fundraising program that donates money to a charity of the collector’s choice for every piece of beauty and personal care packaging waste returned to TerraCycle for recycling. The collected waste, which would otherwise be destined for landfills, consists of non-recyclable hair care, skin care, and cosmetic packaging.”
No question that innovation continues to rule the day in terms of the impact of packaging upon the environment.
